On Saturday October 15th, the JV Boys Soccer Team paid a visit to Choate Rosemary Hall as they encountered their 8th opponent this season. The JV boys started this year with an exciting record as they won Salisbury and Canterbury by 4-2 and 6-2, respectively, while only losing to Berkshire 0-1 at Home; however, the good run stopped as the team conceded several losses over the past two weeks. “This is a must-win match and we need to turn our bad run,” Head Coach Mr. Booth said before the match.

The first half of the game was a tactical success for the Lions as they scored three goals only twenty minutes into the game. The shifting of formation to a much more aggressive 4-3-3 proved its worth as the JV boys provided ample pressure to the Choate backline. Regardless, Choate demonstrated their resilience as they scored twice just before the half time whistle, with one of the goals as a penalty

During the second half, Kents struggled as they conceded another goal minutes after the game started. The Lions countered by scoring another goal and pushing the score to a tight4-3, yet a series of mistakes combined with the depleting stamina from the JV boys awarded Choate three goals as they controlled the match further on in the game. Kent scored another goal in an attempt to overturn the defeat, but the score was sealed to a 5-7 as the final whistle was blown.

Head Coach Mr. Booth felt that whilst the Lions lost another match, he sees potential in the team that could be released with further cultivation. “We made some mistakes during the game. At one point we’re too aggressive on attack and sometimes we are not,” Mr. Booth reflected, “but the players also have to push themselves more, and if we do that, we can manage to overturn every defeat we have had this season.” 

Looking ahead, Mr. Booth believes the JV Soccer team is filled with future prospects. “More than half of our team are underformers and most of them are new to the school this year,” Mr. Booth shared. “We’re the most technical team in the region, but we’re not physically strong enough to compare with bigger boys.” As the JV soccer team enters their second half of the season, they’re confident that they will release these potentials and taste more of some sweet victory.