Boy's Soccer to Shock
NEIRAD enilno edition
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The boy’s soccer team has had one of the worst records in the state over the last couple of years. In fact, mediocre seasons have been the history of the team since even before this era. When looking at a 1969 issue of Neirad in the new online archives, I couldn’t help but notice the team had ended its year with yet another losing record.
Similarly, the team missed states once again last year, finishing with a less than satisfactory record of 3-8-4, finishing in 3rd to last place out 19 teams. However, for the 2008-2009 season the program is looking for a complete makeover. This year, Boy’s Soccer is going out to earn respect.
“Our team has a lot of depth because of [the large senior class]. [Most of the team] has been playing together since we were seven or eight in the travel leagues,” Striker and Co-captain Andrew Bay said.
The boy’s soccer program at DHS has had trouble over the past few years over recruiting enough players for the team. For instance, last year there were just six seniors on the varsity squad. However, this year the team has seen a huge improvement with 16 seniors on the 26 person team, many of whom are returning starters. This increase in numbers may very well be due to head coach Nicolae Piperea who began coaching at the program in 2006. Piperea’s ability to retain strong players spells good things to come for the program.
The team has three main goals this season. Attacking midfielder and Co-captain Graham Christensen said that they are: to make states; do well in the FCIAC’s and to beat New Canaan for the first time in three years. Though these goals do seem a bit out of reach considering last year’s results, the captains feel that each benchmark is attainable.
The team’s leaders and strongest players believe that this season may be the first in many years where these aspirations could be reached. We have a lot of strong players,” Chris Parsons, a Co-captain and center midfielder said. “These guys are going to come out 100%.”
Needless to say, Parsons is right. The team will have to go out twice as hard as they did last year if they hope to attain the goals they have set out for themselves. Over the years, teams like Staples, Greenwich and Westhill have captured the FCIAC crown, and Varsity Soccer is looking forward to taking some wins for themselves.
“A lot of teams think we’re just a tune-up game or like a scrimmage, so we can’t wait to surprise them,” Co-captain Ethan Evans confided.
Bay, Christensen, Evans and Parsons will certainly be the strongest players on the team, but also new goalie Junior Robbie Schindler should add some life to the team and give them a good chance to compete with teams like Staples and Greenwich, who are very strong offensively. Also, another Junior Niclas Rasmussen should add some European spark to the midfield. Rasmussen moved to Darien from Denmark this year and he is anticipated to be a strong force on the playing field.
After looking at the team’s schedule, this Neirad sports reporter predicts a varsity record of 8-6-2. Admittedly, that record isn’t as glamorous as a LAX season report, but it shows a substantial improvement from last year, with five additional wins. If they nab that record they will most likely score a spot in States because this year, the division is allowing eight teams to enter the state tournament. Earlier this year, the team beat Brian McMahan 4-3 for the first time since before some the current seniors were even part of the program. This win shows that the team is willing to push themselves toward a winning season. The boy’s soccer team will continue to build its program throughout the year and with the help of a strong junior class, they just might be the Cinderella story of the year.