Preparation for districts begins for HC soccer
The HC varsity soccer team has had a dominant season, recently beating Frederick Douglass High School ten to zero. They will soon start their postseason with the annual district tournament.
The varsity soccer team consists of 12 seniors of which nine of them start. Most of the players have been playing together for years now and have grown as friends according to HC Senior soccer player Ethan MacGillivray.
“My first couple years of varsity, there was a lot of division,” MacGillivray said. “This year it’s a lot different and we’re all friends.”
MacGillivray plays alongside HC Senior soccer player Khalid Browne. Browne is one among many seniors competing in their last high school district tournament. He claims the seniors will be playing with that in mind.
“I feel like [the soccer team] has been pushing harder and harder, every game, every practice,” Browne said. “So we can do better for our last year.”
Browne showed nothing but confidence in his team’s ability to win the tournament this season. He sounded very optimistic with high expectations for him and his fellow teammates to record another district championship win for HC.
“I’m very confident we can most definitely win,” Browne said. “I have no doubt in my mind… it’s [going to] be our year.”
HC soccer head coach Jason Behler exerted a similar confidence to Browne, complementing the team’s talent and abilities. He expects a positive result in this years tournament.
“This group of young men is extremely talented,” Behler said. “They will do great things in this postseason.”
The team has been working on dealing with pressure in difficult situations in preparation for the tournament. They need to control the momentum and roughness of the game according to Behler.
“[We’ve been practicing] how to handle pressure in tense situations,” Behler said. “Control the pace, control the tempo, control the physicality.”
The varsity soccer district tournament will start October 11th and will be continuing throughout next month.