Boys’ Soccer Controls Game Against Holderness

Coming off from an impressive victory of 5-1 against Brewster Academy, Big Red boys’ soccer defeated New Hampton School’s varsity squad 4-0 in this past Saturday’s home game. With the record of six wins, one tie and no losses for the past seven games, the team has been progressing toward another tournament appearance.Head coach AJ Cosgrove said that new players on the team stepped up and played exceptionally well in the game against New Hampton and noted various individual players who contributed to the game. He also emphasized that senior and co-captain Sterling Weatherbie re-joined the team after recovering from his concussion.“Matt Asante played great at the left back position. He was very active, making overlapping runs, crossing the ball and working well with Trevor Cosgrove down the left flank. Trevor also played well. Tarek Khartabil and Jacob DuPont scored for their first times at Exeter. We have two important and tough games this week against Worcester and NMH,” Cosgrove said. “Captain Sterling Weatherbie returned from his injury at just the right time. If we continue to defend well and capitalize on scoring opportunities, I like our chances.”“We are playing very well. We are a better team than New Hampton, and we played like it,” Cosgrove added.Senior and co-captain Ted Hart said that the game against New Hampton was not as challenging as the game against Brewster Academy’s varsity team last Wednesday. He said that because of this lack of pressure from the opponent, the team was able to score 4 goals and deny New Hampton from many scoring opportunities.“Wednesday's game against Brewster posed more of a challenge for our team because they had some highly skilled players in the middle of the field, so our defense had to be strong for the full game,” Hart said. “We weren't pressured very much defensively against New Hampton, so we focused more on controlling the ball and finding ways to attack the goal.”Hart commented on New Hampton’s strategy during the game. He said that New Hampton rarely tried to push forward to create scoring chances, but rather “put their whole team behind the ball on defense making it difficult to generate scoring chances.” Hart said that despite this strategy, “[the] team did a good job of finishing opportunities when they arose.”

"We have no weak areas. Everyone is working hard and getting their job done."

Senior and left-midfielder Max Rerkpattanapipat said that the captains’ leadership has been pivotal in achieving victories.“Our team chemistry continues to get stronger and stronger, and we're all having fun out there while taking care of business. I owe this to our captains and the leadership on our team,” Rerkpattanapipat said. “I think we have the best captains ever, and they make sure everyone is working hard, has a strong desire to win and, at the same time, enjoy what he is doing.”Lower Quintin DiStefano said that all players are gaining momentum and improving their performance after each game. He said that the team would strive to preserve the winning streak."The team is on a roll right now," DiStefano said. "We have no weak areas. Everyone is working hard and getting their job done. Couldn’t ask for more from the boys. All we need to do is keep playing well and keep the streak going."Hart agreed and said that since the team will be facing challenging opponents in upcoming games, all players will apply their maximum effort and skills.“We have a couple tough games this week, so we're going to need to do a better job of creative passing combinations up the field and making sure we don't give our opponents any untested shots on goal,” he said.The boys’ next game is at Northfield Mount Hermon this Saturday, a team that is also looking to continue their winning streak with a 6-1-1 record.