Varsity Soccer: What a Season

TYLER STARR ‘10

Boys Varsity Soccer’s record is not an accurate indication of their season. They finished the season 1-9-5, with several close games that did not go their way. The team enjoyed only nominal luck throughout the entire season. Whether it was injury, poor officiating, or missed opportunities, Boys Varsity had no breaks this term.

The season began with Lamarre Rey’s departure from BCDS. His departure left a hole at keeper. Luckily, senior Chris Rush stepped up and became the new keeper for the team, doing a great job replacing Rey.

The team was plagued by injuries all season long. They started without Oliver Hunt ’11, who was lost for the season due to a knee injury suffered last summer, and Angelo Cabral ’11. Hunt was one of the top scorers at Shady Hill in 2006 and would have been a great addition to the team. Excluding Arian Fararooy ’08, every starting player has been taken out of a game due to some form of injury. Some could call it lucky that only a few starters have had to miss a game due to injury. Angelo Cabral ’11, Oliver Hunt ’11, Tyler Starr ’10, Marco Fabrizio ’09, Gabe Reich ’09, Will Searle ’09, Chris Rush ’08, and Zach Levandov ’08 have all had to sit out at least one game. Injuries varied from a sore groin to a partially torn MCL to a concussion.

The Landmark game may have been the worst game of the season for the team. Despite standing as the team’s only victory, four starters got hurt and three did not play the next two games. Ten minutes into the game, Tyler Starr ’10 suffered a concussion. “[Tyler] and the other player ran into each other then both toppled backward,” Murray Hershkowitz ’10 recalled. Angelo Cabral and Andrew Emmons ‘08 suffered foot injuries and came to practice the next day on crutches. In addition, Chris Rush sustained a mysterious arm injury. Andrew Emmons was able to play with the pain in the next game, and, fortunately, Chris Rush only missed the next two games. Unfortunately for starters Tyler Starr and Angelo Cabral, their injuries were season-ending.

The team also had several close games. They had five ties and three games where they only lost by one goal. While time was running out in their second game against Pingree, five shots were taken that either hit the cross bar or were deflected by a player. In their first game against Landmark, they fought back from a three-goal deficit to make it 3-4 and with one minute left missed a crucial free kick. In their second game against Bancroft, Beaver was winning with ten minutes to go but fell apart at the end and tied the game. Coach Cabral does have an answer for these close games: a month long trip to a soccer academy in Portugal during the summer. Whether or not that is the solution to the team’s problems, it is a start.

Though the team had a losing record, you have to look at all these factors to fully understand the hardships of this long season.