Boys’ Varsity Soccer Bests New Hampton

By SELIM KIM, EMI LEVINE, and SOPHIE MA

On Oct. 7, the boys’ varsity soccer team played a match against New Hampton, winning the game 4-0.

Captain and senior Atticus Ross reflected on the game, saying: “The game against New Hampton was great. We won 4-0, and the boys put on a very convincing performance. I think it was a great experience for some of the players to get minutes in the stadium and under the lights.”

Prep Luca Domingos-Worth felt similarly, “We were able to take a significant lead fairly early on and controlled the game. Our four goal lead meant lots of substitutions were made so that everyone got some really good game experience,” he said.

Lower Charles Dobbins agreed, noting that the game was a welcome opportunity to get in extra practice. “The game against New Hampton went really well. We went in knowing that they weren’t one of the stronger teams we were gonna play, but we still didn’t want to get complacent so we made sure we were locked in,” Dobbins said.

“We had four different players score goals,” head coach A.J. Cosgrove said. “Charles Dobbins—who was on the JV team last year—scored his first varsity goal, so did Solu Ajene. Then [senior] Griffin MacGillivray converted a penalty kick. Thaniel Illuzzi scored our first goal. And Jaylen Bennett played very well.”

According to Ross, some particular highlights were the goals from Dobbins and upper Solu Ajene. “Charles scored his first goal of the season with a header and Solu scored a first-time volley from about 18 yards. Both were great finishes.”

Dobbins also commented on Ajene’s goal. “Our third goal scored by Solu Ajene was a great score in the top corner off a corner kick. It’s what we’ve been working on: trying to get the second ball and get it back into the box. We were really happy about that,” Dobbins said.

To continue the team’s recent success, Ross is focused on improving their skills in training. “We are focusing on getting the ball wide and crossing. That is where the majority of our goals come from. We also want to improve our set pieces,” Ross explained.

“Our goal during practice is to try to simulate game conditions,” Cosgrove added. “And to improve pace of play and technical ability.”

Ross has tried using videography to help the team. “More recently, I have been trying to go over film with some of my teammates to pinpoint what we can improve. It has been useful but also difficult because our video film quality is pretty low, but we are working with the athletic department to fix this,” Ross added on.

Domingos-Worth also touched on the team’s training, saying, “I have been enjoying training and think it’s been going well. The main things that we have been focusing on are possession, small sided games, and getting better at delivering and finishing crosses.”

For the rest of the season, Cosgrove has two main goals for the team: “Our number one goal is to have fun and to improve as soccer players,” Cosgrove said. “But as a team, we’re trying to get an invite to the New England soccer tournament.”

Ross also spoke of some of the team’s goals for the rest of the season: “The goal is always to make the playoffs but that is a very difficult long-term goal. My largest focus as captain is to improve the players around me. I try to demand a little more from each of my players every day.”

Many players had similar goals in mind. “I think we have been fighting hard, but need to be a more deadly team in terms of scoring goals and winning. We all obviously want to make playoffs and win the championship, which means that our next games need to be big wins to give us a stronger record before the end of the season is here,” Domingos-Worth said.

Similarly, captain and senior Cam Guthrie has high hopes. “I’m optimistic about this season. We’ve put ourselves in about the same position we did last year, when we missed the playoff scene by one game,” Guthrie said. “We’ve given ourselves the chance to improve upon last year, and go into the final half of this season with a different mentality and a different energy. Everyone on the team knows what’s at stake and is ready to keep working.”

“I really like the guys who are on the team. It’s a very positive group and they have a good team culture, so that’s the most important thing,” Cosgrove added in agreement. “I think we’ve had a couple of frustrating ties in games that we felt we should have won, so there’s a certain level of frustration there.”

“But the season is relatively early,” Cosgrove concluded. “So we’ll see if we can get some more wins.”