Boys Varsity Soccer

Coming off a season where some felt the team’s expectations were not met, the FCHS boys varsity soccer team is hoping for a stronger record.

Last year, the Flucos had a team with a lot of depth and five seniors, including Aaron Evans and Zach Fontenot. These two played a big impact on the team’s short playoffs run where they made it to the second round of Regionals before losing by five to a strong Charlottesville team which had the Jefferson District co-player of the year, Lucas Simpson.

This year, the Flucos are a younger team with four seniors and four freshmen led by midfielders Sampson Blakey and Will Davis, and forward Addison Patchett. The team started their season against a tough Albemarle team and lost by three. They had a relatively light three-game stretch the third week in March, facing Goochland at home on March 20, Buckingham away on March 22, and Liberty Christian at home on March 24. The final score to these games were a loss to Goochland at home four to one, the Flucos then went on to beat Buckingham five to zero and draw Liberty Christian two to two with a game tying goal from senior captain Will Davis. The Flucos continued the winning streak with a five to three win at Louisa and a three to two win against Monticello. The Flucos had their biggest win so far this season against Monticello, goals came from senior captain Addison Patchett(1) and Freshman Lent Manqani(2). The Flucos played poorly against Louisa winning a very close game that should not have been close, but after this win against Monticello, the Flucos have a lot of momentum moving forward. The Flucos are on a three game winning streak and look to extend this streak with a win at Orange on Thursday.

Playing in one of the toughest districts in the state of Virginia with teams like Western Albemarle and Monticello, the Flucos are going to have some serious challenges ahead of them.

“I think we have the talent and depth to be a great team,” said Head Coach Jason Davis. “There are a lot of teams in this district that are great teams, but I think we could make some noise in the district and in the playoffs. I think once we win our first game, we will start to come together as a team and finish the season strong. Right now we have a few injuries and are missing some key players to this team, but once they return, our team will be complete and I can see us making a run in the playoffs,” he added.

Davis had been an assistant coach for the past five years under former Head Coach Earl Gibson. After the Flucos playoff run last year, Gibson stepped down and Davis stepped up to the head coach role.

“I think we have the potential and skill we just need to come together as a team to win games,” said senior Sampson Blakey. “We may be a young team, but these younger players play for well-coached club soccer teams and are talented. We just have not brought it together. Also, we need more consistency as a team; recently we have not been playing at the level I know we can play at and I think the way we can become consistent is by getting more comfortable as a team,” he said.

Blakey has been playing varsity soccer since he was a freshman. He is typically the focal point of the Flucos offense and is usually considered by coaches to be one of the best players on the field.

He added, “Some of us have played together our whole life and for some of the younger guys, I have never played with them. Becoming more consistent and coming together as a team will lead to the success we have been looking for all season.”

With an offense led by Patchett, Davis, and Blakey, if the Flucos can get hot and go on a little winning streak, they have a chance of making a playoff run. They may have lost some key players from last year’s team, but those spots have been filled with sophomores or freshmen that have time to develop throughout the season.