The boys varsity soccer team’s season is underway in a quest to continue the dominance from last season’s team, which set a team record with 12 wins.The team is already 11 games into the season and has a record of 4-5-2 as of Sept. 21. Coming into this season, players had high hopes despite losing a slew of talent from last season’s team. However, they know that matching the success from last year would be tough to repeat.

Despite not getting as much recognition as sports like basketball and football, the boys soccer team made had numerous All-Conference KLAA players as well as some players that were honorable mentions. While they’d like to match this success, it would be very tough to achieve.

“It’s gonna be tough to win 12 games again, and we had a tough schedule early on to get ready for districts,” Head Coach Thomas Hipple said.

There are still high expectations, however, for this team. Starting goalie Nate Bresnay says that his expectation for the season was, “to get everyone on the same mindset and keep working hard and to be as good as we can be.” In fact, Hipple said, “I think that we have the same expectations every season… to win the West and win the districts.”

The soccer team lost a lot of good players from last season’s team, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have plenty of returning talent. They have two returning All-Conference players in midfielder Dante D’aloisio and defender Tyler Welch, as well as a returning All-Conference honorable mention player in left back Andrew Hinman and a junior striker Matt Villemure. They also have fresh new faces in sophomore Spencer Beckman, who played JV last year, and freshman Danny Smith. This mix of returning and new players set up for another good season in which they can contend in the West and win many games.

D’aloisio and Welch are spoken of as the leaders of this team. Bresnay said.

“The leader of this team is either Dante or Tyler.” These thoughts are shared by Coach Hipple as well as other players on the team.

There is a critical part of the team’s success that may be overlooked by most people: the “flop squad”. The “flop squad” is a decent sized student section that comes to every game to support the team. In a sport where it is uncommon for there to be a student section, the “flop squad” is loud and eccentric and really can get into the opposing team’s heads, while also providing the energy that is sometimes lacking over the course of a long game.

“I really enjoy [the flop squad],” Bresnay said. “it’s unseen in soccer and it’s fun and exciting to see and very funny.”

This team has all the pieces in place for a good season. They have a good coach, good players, unquestioned leaders and great fans. They set the bar high last year and this year they want to raise it even higher. And remember, there are a few home games left. These games include a game at Hartland on Oct. 4 and a home game against Brighton on Oct. 6, so come out and support the team while you enjoy the experience of seeing the “flop squad” as well.