Jordan Boyd | Yearbook Co-Editor

Pictures contributed by Davy Boha

Coming off a first-round sectional loss to Perry Meridian last October, the boys soccer team has spent the summer conditioning and preparing for the upcoming season. In order to advance further in the state tournament, the team knows they not only will have to contend with a Perry Meridian team that returns several starters but also fierce competition within the MIC.

The team played Fishers in a scrimmage on Wednesday night and saw their hard work beginning to pay off. “From the scrimmage last night, I see the conditioning already paying dividends and allowing us to outlast our opponents,” four year varsity player Luke Boha ‘19 said. “This will be extremely beneficial for us later on in the season.”

Conditioning does not stop for the soccer team as soon as the season starts, though.

“We will continue to condition and practice hard,” Jake Youngstafel ‘19 said. “You will be able to tell against our competition because when the game progresses, their intensity will fall off as ours will stay.”

Not only did the team spend their summer intensifying their routines and strengths, but they have also been preparing to play on the program’s new turf field.

“The turf will work in our favor this season,” Jackson Neal ‘19 said. “The game plays a lot cleaner and faster on turf which is when we play our best.”

This new playing surface was made possible after the school board allocated leftover funds from the Walnut Grove Elementary School to the soccer program, which the team hopes will contribute to a successful season.

“The turf field will play right into our hands this year,” Youngstafel said. “Our team is extremely technical and the turf will allow us to move the ball extremely fast. This will help us counter our opponents without having any fluke passes like we did because of the field last year.”

The field, the intense practices and the early tournament loss last season have driven the team to set high goals for the year.

“Some team goals we have this year are winning MIC. We have not had an outright win for a long time, we have either lost or ended in a tie,” Youngstafel said. “The next goal we have is to bring another state championship to the soccer program. We have a strong lineup this year and have a better shot at another ring than we have had in the past three years.”

Since the state tournament does not begin until the end of October, fans can cheer for the Trojans at a number of games before then.

“I encourage fans to come to all of the games, but specifically Perry Meridian, North Central, and senior night against Southport,” Neal said.

The team will play against Perry Meridian next Thursday night at home as they look to avenge their knockout from sectionals last season, and before then, the Trojans will play Roncalli tomorrow morning in their home and season opener.

“Fans should expect a strong performance from our team this Saturday and throughout the season. We should be in every game we play and bring home some dubs for the program,” Youngstafel said. “Expect some goal celebrations as we like to play with swagger and no mercy.”

The last time the team played Roncalli was on August 26th, 2017, when the Trojans defeated the Rebels 1-0. Fans can show their support for the boys soccer team as they play on their new turf field on Saturday morning. JV will play at 10:00 AM and Varsity will follow.