MHS Boys Soccer kick off the season against Credo High School

Written by Alanis Sierra Martinez

The boys soccer team had their first match of the season against credo high on Monday August, 26. It was a close game, the final score being 0-1. It is said that Middletown's defensive line put up a good fight. 

Middletown high school's varsity boys soccer had their first day of try outs on August 13, 2024. On August 15, 2024 they made a difficult decision as to who made the cut. Having over 25 people try out and only being able to select 16 regular season players and 3 practice players.

When players were questioned about how they felt about starting off the season with that game one of the captains of the MHS boys soccer team states “ Our strikers definitely need more improvement when it comes to shooting, passing, and running out to open space. They need the drive, the passion, and the dedication of a REAL soccer player.” Others seemed to agree with his claims. Many players seemed to have the same ideas about how they could improve and what it is that they are going to do to achieve where they want to be later on in the season as a team. 

Returning players all seemed to have agreed upon the same thing. Their team's inability to communicate. They knew that they were facing tough competition, but they weren't prepared for what they were going to face. In the first half of the match credo was able to score early on into the game. That was Middletown's wake up call. Defensive stepped up midfield was working hard, stickers were ready.  

Despite the score Middletown worked hard to bring up the score while keeping the opposing team from scoring.     

Recent addition to the team, player Miguel Quintero was interviewed on his thoughts on the experience. He gives insight on his personal performance as well as his thoughts on his teammates  performance as well. 

Many players said they were very nervous going into the game due to half of the players being new auditions to their team this year. Besides the disadvantage of not knowing each other they were optimistic. None of the players had control over where they would be placed in the game. The coach decided that they would play more defensively because he himself was unsure about his team's offensive ability. All of their experienced/returning players played defensively last Monday, which led their team to lack in the up field. Many players had complaints about this due to the drive they had to score. 

Overall the game was a good building experience for the entire team. Next time we should expect to see communication, build bonds, and strategy from the MHS boys soccer team. They will face off two teams (TBD) this weekend at the Upper Lake tournament The Cougar Cup.