Alive and kickin’

Midseason report on the boys soccer team

Nathan VanZuilen

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December 19, 2018
Sophomore+Caden+Bell+playing+during+a+playoff+game.+

Sophomore Caden Bell playing during a playoff game.

The boys soccer team is now in its fifth season of play, and while their record may not show it, they are coming back better than ever. The team has seen some success with a record of 2 wins, 4 losses, and a tie rounding off the bunch. While this record may not seem very significant, those two wins are a milestone for the team. The game against Kasson allowed the team to show what they can do when they find their groove. With 5 goals scored in that one game, the Bombers had almost reached the amount of goals scored in the entirety of the season prior. The second win came as another record for the Bombers, as it was the first time they had ever beaten Red Wing.

The boys have also taken part in a few games that are off the record. On Saturday, September 16th, the team took part in the Lake City Tournament. The team took home second, beating Lake City in their first game 3-2, and losing to Stewartville 0-2 in the second game. All in all, it was a great learning experience for the team as it allowed them to get a sneak peak at the teams they would be facing later in the season. Now the hope is that they can repeat their performance against Lake City, and maybe even beat Stewartville in their upcoming matches on October 3rd and October 5th respectively. Seth Degroot, a Junior, and one of the team’s captains, stated that “The team has been gaining more and more experience as the years go on, and I hope that we can end the season on a good note.”

The coach of the team, Adam Rueger, had high words of praise for the boys. He stated that “The team is more talented than they think. They need to start believing in themselves more. They have a lot of untapped potential and the key to them winning is reaching that potential.” Despite the team’s relatively young age group, he has a lot of faith in them. “ If they keep working hard they will finish this season strong.” He also was quick to mention the many firsts in boys varsity soccer including the wins against Kasson, Lake City, and Red Wing.

The Bombers will have to face Lake City and Stewartville again during the week of Homecoming (Oct. 1), hoping that they can recreate their prior performance against Lake City and improve in the game against Stewartville. All of this success is fairly impressive considering that the Bombers have no seniors on their roster and they have a team entirely made up of Juniors and Sophomores. The team has high hopes for next year, as it will be mainly the same group of boys. The Bombers right now however are focused on breaking yet another season record, winning their first ever playoff game.