I have played soccer over the past four years of my high school career. Three out of the four years, I was injured and didn’t play much, but my last and final year was the best. From playing in almost every game to making it to the district playoffs, unfortunately, we got knocked out in the first round to Dallas.
In the four years I have played soccer, I have been taught time management, discipline, and teamwork. From playing my first game as a freshman to my last against Dallas, I have made many friends over the years, but nothing can beat the memories I have made.
As a freshman playing under Coach Olzinski, I didn’t play as much on varsity but mainly in junior varsity. The one memory I have is from our first game against Wyoming Area when my best friend Noah Stachyra scored two goals in the game. We all celebrated with him by running down the field. But my season got cut short with an injury.
My sophomore year rolled around and we had a different coach, Mark Matusak. No one knew his playing style even though he was the coach for the soccer team when it first started until 2018. I started our first game of the season against Honsdale where I was playing in defense. This season is kind of a blur because it had its ups and downs. The biggest win of that season was beating Holy Redeemer 4-3 with Jeter Cardona scoring all four goals.
During my junior year, we were playing on our new turf field. Coach Matusak was still leading the team, and this season I still didn’t play that much. Theseason went terribly and we we only ended up winning three games. The highlight of this season was when we beat Berwick in overtime from Ethan Ball scoring a header off of a corner kick with 2 minutes left in overtime.
Finally, it was my senior season, and going into it everyone thought that it was not going to go well at all, but we started off the season 3-0 beating Hanover, MMI, and Berwick. Then we proceed to go on a 5 game losing streak. We then came to face Wilkes-Barre for the second time at their Stadium, and I came out of that game with a concussion and missed my senior night.
Coming to the end of the season we had to face Dallas for the District quarter-final. We started the game off great, but once we got into the second half of the game, we lost all power and started to go downhill. We held out strong throughout the rest of the game, but in the end, we lost to them 6-1 and 6-0 the past two times we played them. The latest game wasn’t as bad; it was only 3-0.
Throughout the past four years, soccer has been a roller coaster of emotions, but throughout the whole time, I had a great experience with the friends I have made and the games we have won. Even the games we have lost were worth it for me. Overall, it was a great experience to be a part of. I appreciate all the time and effort my coaches have put into helping me and my other teammates to improve and be better at the sport we chose to play.
