On Friday, January 17, Irvington’s Varsity Boys Soccer team played a difficult away game against Newark Memorial High School at TAK Fudena Stadium.
The game started off strong, passes making their way to dodge the opposing team at Newark Memorial. Irvington’s coordinated efforts were strong, and they showed great perseverance against Newark Memorial’s soccer team, which is rated one of the top in the state.
In the first half of the game, Newark Memorial secured 3 points, but many of their attempts at making goals were countered by Irvington’s efforts through defense and the goalie, both of whom blocked many goals. Many good passes and saves were made by Irvington, countering Newark Memorial’s strong offense.
Although Irvington lost, there were many takeaways for the team. Head Coach Mauricio Menjivar, who is in his first year coaching the Boys’ Soccer team, reflected on this difficult game afterwards. “I don’t think we did too bad. This is supposedly one of the first place teams. They’re up there. I feel like the guys work hard, they just need an extra push.”
Coach Menjivar adds that their goal was to “work together, to make NCS playoffs. I felt like our squad had the potential to do it, but injuries hurt us. Guys got sick, so that kind of took us down.”
Overall, the players managed to make successful passes, intercept the other team’s goals, and block passes. The game was a difficult one, but a successful goal was made in the second half, which was triumphant for Irvington.
When asked about what the team was looking forward to, co-captain Yahel Preciado (12) mentioned afterwards: “It’s not about being the best player on the field. If you could be a role model to your teammates, then that’s all that matters.”
“We have a great group of guys and a lot of underclassmen, so it makes the team a lot more coachable.” Preciado adds. “Even though I won’t be playing next year, I still look forward to seeing how the team develops over the years, because we still have a lot of great talents coming in.”
Even though this game was a loss for Irvington, it remained a win for teamwork that they continue to bring moving forward.
