Following a loss against De La Salle Sept. 9, Park boys’ soccer focused on their performance and aimed high for their matchup against Jefferson Sept. 12. According to senior Saul Zis, the team wanted to approach the game with more tenacity and focus.
“We wanted to come out hard and be aggressive,” Zis said. “We worked on mental preparation before the game, and once the game started, we aimed to bring it right away with the intensity.”
Senior captain Jakob Eenigenberg said he believes that preparation led to the successful outcome of the game because keeping calm with the ball and focusing on finishing shots on goal was crucial.
“To prepare, we worked on being intentional and playing one and two-touch,” Eenigenberg said. “Shooting and finishing have also been major focuses of practices lately. Overall, we wanted to increase our intensity and maintain composure.”
Despite the physicality and intensity throughout the game, head coach Anson Opara said he was most impressed with the team’s tactical play and their ability to work with the advantages they had.
“We wanted to make sure we had a lot of shots on goal. Once we did that, we actually started to score, which is super nice,” Opara said. “Achieving the lead and maintaining it was really nice to see from all of the players. Executing the decisions that we had and seeing it actually create a win was amazing as well.”
Senior Marco Cucci said the first win of the season was gratifying, as the team worked hard to make it possible. According to him, the team has been connecting on the field, making the matches more competitive.
“I like playing here (at Park) a lot. It’s interesting to learn from the team here because some rules are different, but the game is very similar,” Cucci said. “We have a very good team that works hard and is fun to be on. The win was the best part of tonight. We worked for it.”
According to Opara, considering both the individual and team responsibilities within the game, finding a good balance was what contributed to the final score. He hopes the team will connect more and continue to be successful in future matches.
“We got a win. When you stay with the plan together as a team, good things happen. When you try to play as individuals, that’s when the team falls apart,” Opara said. “Hopefully, it starts to bring our community together.”
Park boys’ soccer will challenge Benilde-St. Margarets at 7:00 p.m. Sept. 14 at Benilde-St. Margarets.
