Dev Zoks
sports editor
It was a warm fall night on Oct. 9 as the Patriots looked to take on the reigning state champions, BCC. It was a big night, senior night, and after the 12 seniors got called out with their family and the best and worst memories of their soccer careers were announced, the game started. “It was a big game not just for me because of senior night, but because we are playing the defending state champs,” senior Ben Stoller said.
As the game started the crowd cheered, eager to see the Patriots win. The first 20 minutes went by slowly, but as the game went on, the Patriots got a breakaway. Junior Andy Ram ran down the field. To the left of the goalpost, Ram bodied his way through the BCC defenders and passed it to junior Gabe Pernie, who finished it, giving the Patriots a 1-0 lead. “I was not really thinking of scoring, I just wanted to get an opportunity for our team to take the lead,” Ram said.
The Patriots went on to win the game 2-1, with the other goal scored by Ram. Junior goalkeeper Matthew Kopsidas had an insane penalty kick game to keep the game from being equalized. It was Kopsidas’ third penalty kick save of the season. “I have practiced penalty saves for a while and I really just try to get a great jump on the ball as it leaves the opponent’s foot to dive and save it,” Kopsidas said.
A day earlier on Oct. 8 the Patriots traveled out to Paint Branch to take on the Panthers. After a hard-fought regulation, the scored was all tied up with the lone goal scored by Pernie for the Patriots. The boys entered OT, with their undefeated season on the line. “Paint Branch is a great team, and everyone really wanted to score and win entering overtime,” junior Francis Meyer said.
The ball was passed to junior Alek Wrobleski and he quickly dribbled down field. Finessing his way through four Paint Branch defenders, he got himself an open shot near the box. He flipped it over the goalkeeper’s reach and won the game for the Patriots. The whole entire team jumped ecstatically and ran over to celebrate with Wroblewski. “I was just really honored that I could help our team win and keep our undefeated season alive,” Wroblewski said.
The boys kept their undefeated streak going on Oct. 16 as they traveled to Blake. They absolutely demolished the Bengals, winning 8-0. Goals were scored by Ram, Wroblewski, Meyer, Stoller, senior Nick Bonilla, junior Gianmarco Campero, and senior Devansch Mishra. “We knew Blake was not a very strong team, but we still wanted to come out, dominate, and get ready for the playoffs,” Rams said.
The Patriots’ played at Walter Johnson on Oct. 18, too late to be covered in this issue.
This will be their last regular season game before playoffs start on Oct. 25 where the boys have already earned a first round bye. For round two of the playoffs on Oct. 30 they have home field advantage.
