Around 7:30pm, December 17th, Lively’s boys soccer A-Team took the field for the championship game against Kealing Middle School, one of Lively’s biggest rivals. The game was as invigorating and tense as one can be, being both a rivalry and a championship game. The audience was ready and rowdy, and the team was both excited and nervous, according to Captain Zacarias Garza, who plays Central Defense.
By halftime Lively was losing 2-0, and they were already starting to notice some seemingly unfair behavior from the refs. Luca Vallejo, Captain and Midfielder, reported that there were a lot of bad calls and that it seemed a bit unfair; a sentiment that many others shared. Regardless, the team continued on through the second half. In the end, Lively sadly lost 2-1.
But the loss really wasn’t important, all the team had done was; and luckily they seemed to know that.
“I tried my best and all the boys I’m sure tried their best, I hope there’s no regret. We should be proud,” said Zander Murphy, the A-Team Goalkeeper.
“It’s been a lot of fun. I think everyone’s grown a lot in terms of confidence and I’m really proud of what we did this year,” said Garza. The team has clearly done a lot of growing and has plenty to be proud of.
In a few words the boys soccer team can be described as a Phoenix, coming from dust and ash and yet still rising, sprouting wings, and burning brighter than ever before.
Last year’s boys soccer season might not have been the most successful. According to Wendall Norris, one of Lively’s Boys soccer coaches, “Last year we (the team) won zero games,” but this year has clearly been a complete rebranding and success. The team won five out of seven of their games, one of which was only lost from penalty kicks according to Norris. The team, and hopefully the audience supporting them, share fond memories of team building and games. 8th grader Yasar Ahmad, a member of the soccer A-Team, playing Left-field, said that his favorite game of the season was against Paredes, as it had a nice field. Lively played Paredes in the first championship game of the season on December 16th. Lively won the game which was played at Burger Stadium Annex. Many other players agreed, saying that Paredes was an interesting, fair game.
The soccer season has been an incredibly promising one, for not only the boys soccer team but for all of the sports and activities at Lively. Mr. Norris and seventh grade students like Steven Rivera, an A-Team Leftwing and sixth grader, are committed to keeping the team not only winners, but the same kind and warm community as last year.
