JV Football: Unsuccessful 2016 season carries over- Aaron Strauss, Staff Writer

The majority of the JV football team from last year moved up to varsity, so this year’s team contains mostly freshmen and a few sophomores. From last year’s 0-8 record, the boys have a lot to prove on and off the field.
Leading this year’s team are freshman quarterback Kyler Hamlin, running back/safety Michael Kamadinata, wide receiver/cornerback Matthew Koplan, who has been sidelined by injury, and running Back/cornerback Moses Amobi, who constantly is moving between JV and varsity. The team has been “working hard all offseason and is ready to turn things up. We have so much potential and just need to execute,” Hamlin said.
The Patriots squared up against the rival Bulldogs in the first week of the season losing 20-0. The Pats fought hard but could not come up with the win, falling to an 0-1 start. “It sucks losing to Churchill but it was definitely a situation where the team learned from their mistakes,” head coach Aaron Krotman said.
The boys played the Richard Montgomery Rockets in their next match up, but due to no referees, the game was called off and they played for fun. The unofficial score was 25-0 for the Rockets, but the team’s record would remain at 0-1.
For the team’s third week they faced off against Rockville. The team played their best game of the season so far beating Rockville 22-16. With their first win of the season the team’s record jumped to 1-1. Both “the defense and offense had a great game. We played up to our potential and that why we finally won,” Kamadinata said.
On Sept. 28 the squad faced one of their hardest match-ups of the season, the Whitman Vikings. The Vikings destroyed the Patriots 35-0, causing the team’s record to fall below .500 and become 1-2. The team showed “not as much passion and effort in previous games. It seems we were a little intimidated at the beginning but later picked it up,” Amobi said.
On Oct. 7 the team played at Springbrook, too late to be included in this issue.

JV Boys Soccer: Season starts with pairs of ties, wins, losses- Jonnie Voyta, News Editor

After a devastating start to the season tying their first two games and losing their third the JV boys’ soccer team was off to a rough start. They played the Richard Montgomery Rockets at home hoping to get their first win on September 23. It was a tough match with shots flying in the first and second half, but none of them were able to reach the back of the net. Going into overtime the team was filled with hope and excitement because they had a chance to get their first win. The Rockets scored a goal in the final minutes to go up by one. The team tried to fight back, but they were not able to score and the Rockets won 1-0. “All hopes of getting our first win were destroyed, as soon as the ball went in the back of the net,” freshman Jeremy Ullman said.
The team looked to bounce back and to get their first win against the Gaithersburg Trojans at Gaithersburg on September 27. They started off with an early goal by sophomore Lorenzo Romeo to get things going. It was a tough fight from the Trojans but, then freshman Griffin Ford sealed the game with a second goal to clinch the victory.
Returning sophomore Matthew Kopsidas led the team to their first win with his first shutout of the season. The defense is one of the strongest units on the team letting up only four goals even though they already had three losses on the season. The rookie defense is off to a strong start even though they are all new to the team.
“They have done a great job so far, making my job a lot easier,” sophomore Matthew Kopsidas said.
On Oct. 2 the Quince Orchard Cougars traveled here to face off against the boys. The Cougars started it off with a goal in the middle of the first half to go 1-0. There were no more goals in the rest of the first half and most of the second half until with 10 minutes left in the second half sophomore Michael Auth tied the game back up with a goal. About one minute later Francis Meyer scored another goal to put them back up by one. The game ended with them beating the Cougars 2-1. “We finished the game strong and were able to get the win,” Coach Bauer said.

JV Field Hockey: Girls continue dominance over county rivals- Chloe Perel, Staff Writer

Ottoman, Roman, Persian, Macedonian, and Wootton. All great empires, at one time or another, meet the ends of their glorious reigns. Similar to how the Ottoman Empire fell to King John III Sobieski in the Battle of Vienna, JV field hockey fell to Whitman on Sept. 23. Though they have many games left, their perfect record is now blemished with four wins, a tie, and a loss.
In their first games of the season, the Patriots showed great promise. In the team’s third game on Sept. 13 they were able to score in double overtime, securing a win against the Richard Montgomery Rockets. Sophomore striker Mia Silver, on a breakaway that took breaths away, sent the ball into the lower left side of the goal, scoring the game-winner.
Spirits were high heading into their next game on Sept.19 against BCC. However it was a disappointment to both the team and fans hoping for a win. Though the Patriots fought valiantly both on offense and defense, no team was able to score, giving the team their first tie of the season.
Then on Sept. 23, the Patriots lost an in-season game for just the second time in two years. Whitman came out strong in the first half and was able to put two goals on the board. The Patriots fought hard in the second half but were unable to retaliate.
Though this was a tough loss, the team is still proud of their efforts. “We were hoping to at least score but we didn’t give up,” sophomore Monica Godnick said.
Due to the scheduling of the field times on the day of the game, the team also didn’t get as much warm-up time as they usually do. “It was hard to get into game-pace because we didn’t get to warm up,” freshman defender Laura See said.
There is a silver lining to this loss, according to the coach. “I think the loss will help us improve because it was the first time the team saw that when we stop communicating and connecting our passes, other teams will take advantage of it. I think it was a good learning experience,” coach Maddie Averill said.
The loss didn’t stop the Patriots from clawing their way to a win on Sept. 26 against WJ. The goals were scored by freshman Quinn Lugenbeel and sophomore Hannah Mirza for a 2-0 victory.
The team will not achieve a perfect record this season, but that is not fading their focus for maintaining their current winning record. “It feels pretty good to have a winning record. It’s a reflection of the hard work we’ve been putting in at practice,” Averill said.
The team’s next game was against Churchill on Oct. 4, too late to be included in this issue.