Bucs soccer surpasses last years team competing at regionals
JV Coach Derek Ottenbaker smiles and hugs sophomore Brady McDonald and junior Ethan Prins in celebration of how well both of them played in the district finals. The boys varsity soccer team moved on to regional semifinals after claiming district finals.
November 5, 2019
The boy’s varsity soccer team finished the season with an overall record of 9-9-4. Even though some would say they did not have a stellar record, the Bucs won the district championship and advanced all the way to the first round of regionals in their postseason.
“To get where we got considering our record, it’s a pretty good accomplishment,” senior captain Jaden King said. “We have one of the worst records but to actually go out and beat Rockford and these other high caliber teams is pretty cool.”
The coaches and teammates were excited to end the year taking the title of district champs, adding another trophy to the school trophy case while leaving behind their legacy.
“We all feel awesome for our accomplishment of the District Championship title. Our teams success is because of the players and coaches working together to achieve our goals,” said head coach Nicholas Tejchma. “We gave each other positive feedback throughout the season and grew from it. When we worked together we could see the potential that’s ahead.”
The Bucs started the season off really well, beating rival Spring Lake, along with other schools, however, the Buccaneers hit a rough patch in the middle, losing some confidence going into the last half of the season.
“We had a lot of different formations and a lot of different things that we had to sort out, but then towards the end of the season, we got the things that we needed to work on finally sorted out,” King said. “I didn’t think that we were going to districts, but then towards the end of the season, I was like ‘wow, if we play hard and play to our potential I generally believe that we could’, and we won districts.”
Making it far in the postseason was not the only aspect that made the season great. The teammates had a close connection with each other, forming a family-like bond.
“I feel like there was always team chemistry and we were always one big family and a group of brothers,” King said. “Everyone knew each other really well, there weren’t any relationships that we had to sort out and all throughout drop-ins in the summer, everyone just clicked in it was a fun experience.”
