The boys soccer team is having a fantastic season this year with a record of 11-1 with so much improvement being seen since the first game of the season. On Saturday October 12, the boys walked away with yet another division championship win against Vorhees, beating them 3-0 on their home turf. The game started off strong with a goal from Jose Jimenez within the first five minutes, really setting the tone for how the rest of the game would go. The boys came out hungry for a division title and that’s exactly what they did. The seniors on the team have been lucky enough to experience winning the division championship four years in a row and are hoping the team continues on the legacy after they leave next year.
At the beginning of the second half, Adan Chapparo came out strong with a goal for Bernards making the score 2-0 with only a little under half of the game to go. Six minutes later, Ivan Ilanez, a senior and attacking midfielder scored for Bernards, on a corner kick coming from junior midfielder James Kolvites. The other team tried to clear the ball but Ivan was able to stop it, set up and headed the ball in cleanly, securing the 3-0 will for Bernards.
The defensive side of the team also had a fantastic performance, only allowing one shot on goal for the entire duration of the game. Senior goalie Giancarlo Acosta shared how “The ball was mainly on the offensive side of the field but whenever it came down [their] way [they] were able to clear it out and prevent a goal from being scored”. The team has learned to work together on the field very well and have gotten to know each other’s dynamic very well, one of the key reasons why the team has been so successful this year.
The boys have been thrilled with how their season has been going so far and couldn’t be happier to get to play with one another everyday. “Winning the division final game on saturday felt amazing. Especially when going into the season [they] had a lot of people doubting [them] and [there] potential. Nothing feels better than accomplishing something others told [them] [they] weren’t going to do”, Senior captain Greg Ferreria shared.
The boys celebrated their division title win with a pizza party gifted from Coach Laspada later that saturday evening. He was beyond proud of the boys with their performance so far this season. Laspada shared that “an official told [him] once that he viewed winning the conference as a bigger deal then winning other team awards, because you have to play teams twice and navigate through the long season. Also some of the teams that [he] has coached, who were very talented never won any team honors. It is always nice to reap the fruits of one’s labor.”
