The boys faced off against Keene for the second year in a row in the playoffs last night, with the Lancers losing 2-0, ending their season.
Boys varsity soccer ready to peak going into playoffs
Originally published on Oct.30, 2019
As boys’ varsity soccer team comes to the end of their regular season, there are hopes of a deep playoff run. The team finished the season only losing two of their last nine games and a 6-6-4 overall record.
Senior goaltender Alex Hufford, who is a captain and leader of the squad, has seen the team develop throughout the season.
“Since I can see the whole field, I see what we do well and what we don’t do well,” Hufford said. “That being said, we have definitely improved as the season has gone on.”
Being the one man that has a lot of control in how the results of a game can go, Hufford has taken his role in net very seriously, and knows what he needs to do in order to help his team win. He has 6 shutouts thus far and is planning to carry that momentum into playoffs.
However, Hufford’s only job isn’t just to save shots. As a leader in net he has to make sure the team is communicating, otherwise they’d be in trouble.
“I don’t really put much pressure on myself,” Hufford said. “I’ve been in goal my whole life and I’m comfortable in there. I do feel like I can control a lot of the team’s destiny. If I don’t talk to them and tell them where to go and what to do, the team will fall apart and won’t be able to accomplish much.”
While senior captain Nick Weinmann has a great sense of humor and lovable personality, when it comes to soccer, he’s all business. Once his cleats are laced up and he’s on that field nothing is more important than the W.
“First of all we need to stay focused,” Weinmann said. “The playoffs are looking good, we need to finish strong. The first round of the playoffs need to be us making a name for ourselves”
As a reliable and top tier defenseman he really hopes to give the hometown a show and he is confident in his ability to do so.
“I love being the hero sometimes, but I mostly just love to play and I hope my play makes someone else happy,” Weinnman said.
Keith Fletcher, another senior captain, is confident and ready for the playoffs as him and Nick Weinmann are prepared to lead the defensive attack.
“In the last handful of games we haven’t lost and it’s put us on track for playoffs,” Fletcher said. “In high school soccer any team can win any day. It’s just what team puts in more effort and if we continue to do so we can do well in the playoffs.”
The team is coming together at the right time and are ready to make an amazing story in the playoffs. Fletcher believes the defense is strong and ready to work as long as the offense can stay productive on the opposite side of the field.
“At the beginning of the season our offense struggled due to some players not being able to play,” Fletcher said. “Now our team doesn’t struggle to score and we are a well rounded team.”
