The boys soccer team was eliminated in the Sweet Sixteen after falling 2-1 to Blessed Trinity. The Knights were Region Champions and had an overall record of 10-8.
The team started the season with a record of 1-5 losing to Lovett, Greenbrier, Northview, Riverwood and Collins Hill.
“We got off to a pretty bad start to the season,” senior Ian Lambert said. “I think as a team we knew that this wasn’t our best performance, so we knew that we were going to get better throughout the season. It always sucks having a bad start though because you want to get started on the right foot and keep up a positive momentum.”
The Knights then started region play, where the team was undefeated with a record of 7-0.
“We did really really well in region play,” sophomore Thomas Carter said. “It helped us bounce back from our not so great start to the season. After region, I feel like everyone had a much more positive feeling about how the rest of the season was going to play out.”
Senior Shumi Abboushi said a highlight of region play was beating Pace Academy 3-2.
“The Pace game was a huge momentum shift for our team,” Abboushi said. “It was the Region Championship, and Pace is a very solid team. Sebi ended up getting an insane goal to put us ahead. It was a really fun game and made everyone pick their head up for the rest of the season.”
The Knights were the number one seed from Region 4-AAAA, which matched the team up against the number four seed from Region 3-AAAA, which was Harris County.
“We played extremely well in the region and went undefeated,” Lambert said. “I feel like we were ready to play in the playoffs especially after beating Decatur too. We started playing really well together, which was a promising sign going into the playoffs.”
The Knights went into double overtime against Harris Country, but ended up winning 2-1.
“It was a really long game,” Carter said. “I feel like it wasn’t really anyone’s best game. We ended up pulling out the win though and that’s all that really matters. It definitely wasn’t our team’s best game though.”
The Knights advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, where they matched up against number two seed from Region 6-AAAA Blessed Trinity.
“I feel like we were a little shaken up by the Harris County game,” Abboushi said. “Going into the Blessed Trinity game we knew it was going to be a close game, but after playing so well in region the team was confident. But I do feel like some of that confidence was minimized because of the close game against Harris County. I feel like some of us were still shaken by how close that game was.”
The game was tied at half-time 0-0.
“The game was going okay, we didn’t give up any goals,” Lambert said. “We also weren’t scoring any goals though. I feel like everyone was hustling, which was good to see.”
The Knights ended up losing the game 2-0.
“We honestly just started to get tired,” Carter said. “They got a goal about half way through the second half, and we were definitely still fighting really hard, but they ended up getting another with little time to go. We were still trying to make it back, but it ended up not being enough.”
Abboushi said even though the season didn’t end how they hoped, it was still a good season.
“Overall the season didn’t go exactly as planned,” Abboushi said. “I would say though overall it was a great season I feel like we got some impressive wins like the Pace game. We also just had a fun time.”
Lambert said he believes the Knights will do well next season.
“I think it was still a good season despite getting out in the Sweet Sixteen,” Lambert said. “I’m sure even though the seniors are leaving, the younger guys will be good and go farther than we did this year.”
