Men’s Soccer Turns Season Around, Heads to Playoffs

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Photo courtesy of northraleighsports.com
Photo courtesy of northraleighsports.com
Photo courtesy of northraleighsports.com

On Oct. 21, the men’s Pride Varsity soccer team finished their regular season  8-8-1 and finished 7-4-1 in the CAP-7 conference, earning themselves the second spot in the conference.

According to Bo Burns, senior, the team started the season off a little rocky, finding it hard to control egos, figuring out a solid starting lineup, and fixing frequent mistakes on the field.

The Pride started out the season 3-7. This was exactly the opposite record that Burns, and Davis Griffin, senior, envisioned. “We had expectations set really high this year,” said Burns.

 “Our season started out cold because we weren’t meshing well,” said Ryan Fleming, senior. According to Fleming, as the season progressed, the team became more comfortable with each other on the field and began looking like a real team.

In the second half of the season, the Pride confronted many of their problems. “Once we brought the idea of fixing those mistakes in practice, we started to play like the relentless team that we knew we could be,” said Burns.

The Pride won their next three games, which helped to boost the overall team’s morale.

They finished the second half of their season 5-1-1. “About half way through the season, practices became increasingly better,” said Griffin. “The tempo, attitude and overall quality were elevated. Within those seven games were some of the most important games all season.”

Burns has been on the varsity team since his freshman year and never beat the Broughton Caps.

However, this year the Pride was one step closer. On Oct. 5, the Pride faced off against the Caps. The game was very back and forth, both teams having opportunities to win the game.

“We worked so hard to tie Broughton in one of our best games of the season,” said Griffin. The Pride will most likely see the Caps again in the CAP-7 tournament.

Part of the team’s success can be credited to the Pride’s captains, Griffin and Burns. “The captains really helped to bring our team together and come out to every game with a serious attitude,” said Fleming.

The CAP-7 tournament will kick off Oct. 26. The Pride received the second seed in the tournament right behind Broughton. The Pride will take on the number seven seed, Wake-Forest Rolesville at Hamilton Stadium at 6:30 p.m.

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