For the past couple of years, Neuqua Valley’s Varsity Men’s Soccer Team has done all but disappoint fans with their performance on the field.
Last year’s team had a very impressive record of 24-2-4. The boys also made it to the 2007 State Finals. This year the 2008 team is expected to do just as great.
Jim Johns, the varsity coach, expressed his apparent confidence in an interview. Johns told about how boys have already competed in the “Best of the West” tournament and made it to the finals, described the boys playing as “Incredible.”
Along with each teammate’s amazing talent when it comes to soccer, they have great attitudes as well. “They are expected to represent Neuqua,” said Johns, who has his own expectations as well, “They have to be competitive, at everything.”
From a player’s stand point the attitude seems to be the same as Johns’. “We all play well together, some of us have played together for a long time,” said senior Dillon Cogan, who plays midfield and forward for the team. “We know each other’s skills and we know what each player is capable of, so it makes it easier to run plays,” said Cogan.
A regular practice for Varsity runs from three thirty in the afternoon, till around six o’clock. When asked if the practices are easy or hard, Johns describes them as “appropriate,” to their level and skill. Games vary from week to week, and the various tournaments and fields that the team travels can become very time consuming.
On September 15th the boys played against Lake Park at the Toyota Park, where the Chicago Fire plays. The boys played extremely hard and stayed calm under pressure. Both coaches seemed passionate when calling plays, and the Lake Park fans were separated from the Neuqua fans to avoid any conflict that Toyota Park had anticipated. Within the last ten minutes Neuqua scored to raise their score from three goals to four. The guys put up a fight until the end even though the end score was Lake Park 4, Neuqua 3.
Great things are anticipated from this year’s team, and the season has started very powerfully. Each Neuqua player brings passion to the game of soccer that is hard for other teams to compete with.
By Kelsie Meier, Echo editor-in-chief
