Sophomore Jeremy Ullman received the ball right outside the goalie box and kicked it to the top right corner just sliding past the stretched hands of the goalie on Sept. 11 against Wilson High School, scoring the first goal and proving they could compete.
JV boys’ soccer got the season rolling with that big win against Wilson. The team started off trying to dig themselves out a hole with Wilson taking a early 2-0 lead. Quickly after Wilson’s second goal, Ullman kicked in his goal to make the team only down one. “My teammate gave me a good pass and I knew this was a good opportunity to score,” Ullman said.
In the second half with the score at 2-1 with Wilson leading, the Patriots changed up the game plan and went on an offensive attack. The team pushed the ball up the field in a fast pace and got the ball to freshman wing Sebastian Maldonado, who shot it to the side past the goalkeeper to tie the game up late with both teams at two goals. “I got the ball at a difficult angle but I got lucky that I was able to sneak the ball right in and come up with the big goal down the stretch,” Maldonado said.
The game was neck and neck entering the 80th minute. The Patriots were still advancing the ball up the field with the same mindset as they had before. The ball was being turned over from both teams but finally, in the 85th minute, the ball found sophomore striker Alex Ochman and he made an acrobatic play to knock in the goal to give the Patriots the 3-2 lead. The fans were in a frenzy and so was the bench, with excitement that they possessed the lead with only five minutes remaining. “I was going crazy because I didn’t think that I could get the goal to go in but then I started freaking out when I realized what happened,” Ochman said.
The team is led by sophomore center back Thomas Jezek who has experience from being on the team last year. Jezek dealt with injuries last year as he had a sprained MCL during the season. Jezek’s injuries carried over to the winter season, which he was forced to miss due to breaking his collarbone the day he found out he made the team. Jezek looks to be a physical and vocal leader for the team this year. “Last year was devastating in that I couldn’t help the team in the way that I wanted to, but I think it really helped me realize what the team needed to do to win and how I can help,” Jezek said.