As the winter season begins, the boys’ varsity soccer team must cope with drastic changes. With most of last year’s starters graduated, players are learning new their roles.
Leading the team in its new direction are co-captains senior Fred Feyzi and junior Nikhil Goel.
“As captain, I definitely want to make sure that everyone is motivated to play at their best level since we took a big hit losing many good players,” Feyzi said. “I want to encourage everyone to strive to do better.”
In order for the team to perform at a higher level, more concentration must be put into having productive practices, Feyzi said.
In a recent scrimmage against Harker on Nov. 20, the Falcons won 3-0, with senior David Zarrin scoring the first two goals.
The team went on to lose 5-0 to the Wilcox Chargers on Nov. 27.
A major problem the team faces right now is simply adapting to the new formations and figuring out which players will fill the shoes of last year’s “dream-team” seniors such as Manish Raghavan, Rajiv Ramakabir and Jonathan Junqua. Coach Adam Clarke now works to assemble the best possible lineup, and has to work around the lack of the 13 graduated seniors of last year.
Juniors Will and Sam Guy will be in the starting lineup for the third year in a row, playing center defenders some games and center midfielders the others. Sophomore Komdean Masoumi will play in a defensive mindset in the center midfield. However, the rest of the positions, such as outside midfielders and strikers are up for grabs at the beginning of the season.
Against Wilcox, the team experimented with three midfielders and three forwards rather than playing with the normal four midfielders and two strikers. For the first half of the match, the Falcon defense held together well.
During the second half, Wilcox was able to find holes in the midfield and penetrate and despite retaining less than half the possession, they were able to net a barrage of goals. The final score, 5-0, did not tell the whole story.
“In the last two games, our team chemistry was low, but that will improve as the season progresses,” Feyzi said. “These games weren’t a big deal, and we will definitely get better from there.”
Although steering an almost new team toward success and unity is plenty of work, Feyzi enjoys his job.
“Being captain is fun, and it gives me a sense of leadership. The team is still developing, and it is my job to make sure we progress,” Feyzi said.
After beginning the season with a shaky start, the Falcons drew 2-2 with powerhouse Yerba Buena on Dec. 4, showing definite signs of improvement and gelling between team members. They faced Prospect on Dec. 7, and Leigh on Dec. 8. Scores could not be reported due to printing deadlines.