On a cloudy but windless October night, the boys’ soccer team faced off against the Jefferson City Jays. Both teams fought hard on the Bruins’ home turf, though in the end, the Jays defeated the Bruins 2-0. The team will play their next game in the Rock Bridge Invitational tournament Thursday, Oct. 10.
“We have played some of the top competition in the Midwest and gotten some really great results,” Head coach Scott Wittenborn said. “We do a nice job of playing strong and physical in big games. Right now, we are struggling with mental focus and consistency.”
The team and coaching staff aim to end the season on a high note, building from the loss. Defender Aaron VanDyke feels confident the team can rise from the loss and win the following games. He said previous performances have shown him what they are capable of. Still, the team must grow to fill their potential.
“We work hard and we win big games against big teams, and I think maybe that gets to our heads from time to time,” VanDyke said. “We’ve just got to buckle down and work even harder next time.”
The Jays scored their first goal of the night with only five minutes remaining in the first half and their second goal around five minutes into the second half. Regardless of what may have been a discouraging match because of a longstanding rivalry against the Jays, the Bruins plan to finish the season strong.
“We have won a lot of those close games that we lost last year.” Senior goalkeeper Cooper Deneke said. “I think as long as we stay focused we can end the season well.”
Despite the tough loss against a rival team, both coaches and players have remained hopeful about what is to come for the team.
“We are having an incredibly successful season, but I’m not sure that we are quite living up to our potential yet,” Wittenborn said. “With a lot of hard work and focus over the next month, this team has an incredibly high ceiling.”[penci_image_gallery images=”318967,318966,318965,318964,318962″ auto_time=”4000″ speed=”800″ block_title_align=”style-title-left” custom_markup_1=””]
