Boys Soccer Bounces Back, Hits Playoffs

Damien Lemagnen ’20 lines up a shot. Photo Credit: Nicholas Mandel

By NICHOLAS MANDEL

The boys varsity soccer team advanced to the second round of the playoffs this season after a strong 5-1 win against Edison High on October 25. Captains Muhammad Mamarasulov ’20 and Benjamin Hendel ’20 combined for three goals, leading their team to victory.

Early in the first half, hornet Endrit Hajzeri ’21 dribbled the ball halfway across the field, scoring the first goal of the game.

“The monster came out of me,” Hajzeri said. “That got the team’s confidence up and got the team to play at a stronger pace.”

Minutes later, Jubael Mamon ’20 stole the ball from an Edison player and passed it to Mamarasulov. Mamarasulov then passed the ball to Steven Bermejo ’21, who scored, bringing the team up to a 2-0 lead to end the half.

After a quick Edison goal less than a minute into the second half cut the lead to 2-1, Mamarasulov furiously took matters into his own hands. 

Mamarasulov dribbled past more than half of all the Edison players to score the third goal, followed by a fourth just three minutes later, which seemed to destroy the morale of the Edison players and fans.

“All we had to do was pass the ball to Muhammad,” said David Aragon ’21. “He completely exposed their defense, and their team gave up after that.”

Varsity soccer has come a long way to make the playoffs, overcoming many struggles during the regular season, including an 8-0 loss to Grand Street in the last game of the regular season and not being able to make it to the playoffs during previous years.

Aymen Kuc ’20 said, “After a disappointing season last year, we came into this year with a new mindset. For the whole month of August, we started practice at 7 a.m. to show our dedication to improve as players and as a team.”

At one moment during the season, the team picked up four straight losses, and it seemed like the playoffs were a distant dream.

However, the team worked its way to secure a playoff spot, something that could not have happened without numerous saves from the team’s starting goalie, Geoffrey Salazar ’21.

“Knowing that I helped the team make the playoffs, even though we had a rough start to the season, is a great feeling to have,” he said. “We came back better than ever.”