At the end of this August, the Boys’ Soccer Team kicked off their season with a new team and new spirits. Although the team sports a very different roster from last year, they are looking very promising.
After a great win by the Scouts against a talented Deerfield team on September 1st – and two more impressive wins against top-ranked Stevenson and Libertyville a few weeks later – the future is looking bright for this new team.
One big difference between this year’s and last year’s teams is the age range among the players. The 2022-2023 squad consisted of nearly all seniors and juniors. This year, however, there is a massive increase in the amount of sophomores on the team: six compared to last year’s two.
Sophomore starter Connor Gustafson said, “We don’t have a lot of seniors that play soccer anymore, and the sophomores are pretty good. We have a pretty large team as well. I think our team is going to be good this year.”
Gustafson plays center back: a very prominent defensive role. Although there are plenty of senior center backs, Gustafson has earned the starting spot. He plays academy soccer for the Lake Forest Soccer Association, as do many other members of the team. The extra practice and experience gained from club soccer led these players to the levels of success they are at now. Many believe that performance in sports is directly correlated with age. However, with the varsity sophomores training rigorously during club soccer season, they have proved they have the experience necessary to keep up.
Gustafson believes that experience and playing time do not necessarily correlate to age but depend on skill and confidence.
“If you can earn their [older teammates] respect based on how you play, you definitely will [play in games.] I don’t think there is anything tied to age. If you are good enough, you earn respect from upperclassmen over time,” says Gustafson.
Gustafson proves just this by playing his game, being reliable, and overall helping the team on defense and offense.
As of Tuesday, the Varsity Soccer team has 6 wins and 6 losses, proving they are holding their weight against big schools and stronger teams such as Stevenson and Libertyville. The team chemistry has also been notably strong: an average of 50 percent of the goals scored from Lake Forest have come from an assisted pass. The chemistry has formed over the years for this team, as many players play together on the same club teams or have been on the school team together for years.
Tyler Bernstein, a junior soccer player, noticed how the chemistry has really changed since last year. He stated that there wasn’t a “click” between younger and older players last season.
“Compared to last year we are just seeing a lot more interactions. We are having better personal interactions with each other on and off the field,” said Bernstein. “Last year felt disconnected between upperclassmen and lower classmen, however, this year is way better.”
Junior Theo Jamboretz agrees. He said that last year there were “arguments” and many would point blame to one singular person.
“We used to get angry at each other for mistakes and errors, now we encourage each other a lot more,” said Jamboretz.
Many teammates noted that the sophomores bring a lot of energy to the team. In fact, many agree their energy and work ethic is on par with upperclassmen.
As of Tuesday, the Scouts have 2 sophomore starters: George Thomas at forward and Connor Guftason at defense. Gustafson is a star defender for the Scouts and Thomas shines as well on offense. He has scored many goals for the scouts and a couple of weeks ago, scored the lone goal to beat Stevenson, a team ranked top in the nation.
Unfortunately, Thomas is seen by other teams as small. Against Libertyville – the Scouts’ biggest rival – the crowd saw Thomas and chanted inappropriate comments including, “Go back to preschool” and “Where is your teddy bear?”
Despite these comments, Thomas relied on his skill and performed quite well. Despite being small, Scout fans describe him as “having wheels” or “being invisible.” Thomas and Gustafson together make a great team – and paired with star junior Bernstein and other senior starters – the team is hoping to have a shot at a conference title this year. The Scouts have rebuilt, and fans can’t wait to see where it leads them towards the end of their season.
