Call the boys’ JV soccer team “Kingda Ka” because their rollercoaster ride of a season included the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, and before you knew it, it was over. Like the rollercoaster, the best moments left fans wanting so much more, yet the worst ones left them nauseated and wanting to get out of dodge. Either way, the ride has come rumbling to a stop, and it’s time for a new set of riders to take their seats.
The boys wrapped up their season at home against Damascus on Oct. 10 with a convincing 4-0 victory. The boys were in control from start to finish, with the ball rarely entering their own half. The first half was still frustrating, as the boys couldn’t capitalize on the chances they created and went into halftime tied 0-0. The team entered the second half with the same intensity and finally opened the floodgates with a stunning free kick by sophomore co-captain and forward Nick Bonilla. From there, the Patriots proceeded to tack on more goals as a result of effective ball movement and concentration. “We were more focused in front of goal since we were only winning by a goal, and we finished our chances,” sophomore forward Viktor Hugelier said.
The win allowed the boys to walk away from this season with smiles on their faces.
The team was shaken by the controversial 3-2 loss suffered to the Northwest Jaguars on Oct. 6. Despite the relatively low stakes of the match, tensions ran high. Trash talk was shot back and forth between sides, including several alleged racial slurs. “[Northwest players] made fun of how some of our players looked, and went on talking about how our team sucked,” Bonilla said.
The officiating appeared to be one-sided despite the allegations, with the Patriots receiving a total of five yellow cards in that game alone. Almost all of those calls led to questions from the Patriots’ side about how fairly the referees were calling the game. The anger and controversy proved to be a distraction too big for the Patriots to ignore, and the Jaguars walked away with a 3-2 win. “I feel like we handled it pretty well, for the most part. We were able to block them out and mount a comeback, but time wasn’t on our side,” Bonilla said.
The Patriots were scheduled to face the Quince Orchard Cougars on Sept. 29, but weather forced the game to be postponed, then ultimately cancelled.
The boys defeated Seneca Valley on Sept. 27. The Screaming Eagles could muster up only a whisper as the Patriots put eight balls in the back of the net in the 8-1 victory that occurred just three days after the 8-0 shutout of Poolesville on Sept. 24. The Patriots unquestionably finished September on a tear. To put it into perspective, one would find more goals at James A. Coles field than in a white girl’s Instagram comments section.
While the main goal of JV teams is to develop players for the future, it was important to the team that they win as many games as possible, and finishing with a 5-3-1 record, they more or less achieved that goal. “We had a pretty good season, but if we wouldn’t have made some mistakes during the games, I think our season could’ve been even better,” Hugelier said.
For the sophomores, it’s time to take the next step and play for the varsity squad, meanwhile for most of the freshmen, they’re getting back in line to ride a similar rollercoaster next year.
Joe Pohoryles
JV Sports Editor
