HC Boys Soccer dominates regular season, looks forward to regionals and state
HC Boys Soccer currently stand with a record of 18 wins, one loss, and three tie. Coming off of a 12 win season last year, they currently lead the 11th region. They won all of their district tournament games by a combined score of 12-0. However, the real focus however lies towards the postseason.
“I always tell my players that there is a preseason, regular season and postseason,” HC Soccer Coach Jason Behler said. “The postseason is what really matters because the other two are just prep for the final one”.
HC Soccer lost last year in the state semifinals to the current reigning champ St. Xavier after beating both Southwestern and Boyd County. The close loss left a bitter taste in the mouths of many HC soccer players. This year, however, they are hopeful that this year they will be able to compete and win.
“We’ve competed well with other teams out of state that have competed with St. Xavier,” Midfielder Jasir Rahman said, “So I think our state championship hopes are very much a reality”.
The team has played well enough to get national recognition, beating three out of state teams and coming up just short of another. They also won both games at the River Region Rumble by a combined score of 8-1. This success against out-of-state bodes well for the team’s future achievement.. What is really impressive is that the team has only given up 9 goals this season. For every goal scored on HC they’ve scored an average of eight in return.
“I think that winning regionals is going to happen for us,” Junior Goalie Angel Velasco said. “ We have a good team this year.”
With the KHSAA Regionals and State tournaments well on the way, spirits and aspirations are high. The challenge for the HC soccer team is that although they are on top of their district, their region and state are much tougher and present a host of tests if the team wants to take home the championship.
“There are always things we’re looking to get better at,” Behler said. “I don’t think we’ve reached our ceiling yet”.
Regionals begin on October 14th, and State championships start on the 30th.