Photograph Courtesy of Robert Duran
After the Jackets varsity boys soccer team defeated perennial powerhouse De La Salle in the North Coast Section (NCS) championships last year, it was bound to be an uphill battle to maintain the same level of success in the 2017/18 season.
Last year’s NCS win was the first for underdogs Berkeley High School (BHS) in thirteen years, and only the second in the program’s history. This year, the team was eager to show everyone that the BHS soccer team still had lots more fight in them, and that last year wasn’t a one time deal. Having lost an exceptionally strong senior class, the team was in need of rebuilding. An influx of talented juniors meant that filling these shoes was less challenging than would’ve been previously expected.
The start of the season looked very promising; the team had a brand new group of young players that had raw talent, and very good chemistry on and off the field. Yet while talent was in abundance, experience was not.
Although the boys started well, the season did not go as planned for the team. The boys finished second in their league with a 12-0-4 record behind rival Bishop O’Dowd’s 13-0-3, relinquishing the league title for the first time in three years. After a dramatic win in the first round of NCS, fifth seeded Berkeley had their NCS hopes cut short in the quarterfinals.
Despite holding a 1-0 lead with twenty minutes left during the quarterfinals against Pittsburgh, individual errors and a little complacency led to the Jackets losing 3-1.
“We lacked a final punch in front of the goal and it showed in our results,” said Eli Kane, a BHS junior. It was these small but game changing mistakes that were the biggest reasons behind the year’s disappointing outcome.
In spite of this year’s results, the players all said that it was an enjoyable year overall. Given that this was the first year playing varsity soccer for many of the players, they all seemed to have a great time, and enjoyed the team chemistry on and off the field.
While the Jackets failed to claim the league title, they were well represented in the all league teams for their division. Kane and captain Andres Baldwin were selected for first team all league, and four others were selected for the second team.
With only a handful of seniors leaving, the core of the team will remain the same in the coming year.
The majority of this year’s starting line-up remains, which gives the Jackets a head start going into next year. Thus, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic about the 2018-19 season. The returning players will have years of experience, and will be able to take on the leadership roles of the team and smoothly integrate new players in as more underclassmen move up to varsity.
Next season looks bright for the Jackets as they continue their hunt for the elusive NCS trophy. The players are eager to take the field once again, and will only get hungrier throughout the year.
“The main difference to expect from next season is that we will be bringing home the NCS trophy,” Kane said.