In a recent poll done by @flucojournalism on Instagram, 39 percent of respondents said their favorite spring sport to watch was soccer. Luckily for soccer fans at FCHS, the Fluvanna County boys’ soccer teams are hoping to outshine their opponents this season.
Last year’s record was a mixed bag. The varsity boys finished their 2023 season going to Regionals, but had an end result of 6-10-3. Despite a less-than-ideal record in 2023, team members are optimistic about the 2024 season.
“We didn’t do the best last year, but I know we can improve this year and become better as a team,” said senior Juan Torres.
Other seniors agreed with his outlook, including Noah Jones. “I know if we all work hard and really want it, we can win against these teams that we lost to last year,” said Jones.
To get the boys ready for the season and help them reach their goals, the coaches started indoor scrimmages in late December of 2023, with some conditioning in January. Team members were appreciative of these practice opportunities.
“I like how we have conditioning before the actual season because we get to build up our chemistry and just have fun together,” said junior Ivan Patchett.
Varsity soccer player and Patchett’s teammate Tavin Cook, a junior, agreed. “Being in shape is a really big part of soccer. If you are really good but can only run for 30 minutes, then you aren’t going to help for the rest of the game.”
Team members hope that their extra practices and conditioning will allow them to do well in games against their biggest competitors: Albemarle, Western Albemarle, and Charlottesville. Western Albemarle won Regionals last year and Albemarle got second. “We tied with Albemarle last year and that was the first time we didn’t lose to them. I know we can win against them.” said senior Ethan Dahl.
After the 2023 spring season, the varsity boys lost six seniors, many of whom were starters. This has led to some players wondering about the starting lineup for 2024.
“We lost a lot of our starters so it is going to be interesting to have a new starting lineup,” said sophomore Brady Crisp.
This season there are eight seniors, and according to some players, there is going to be a lot of competition for the starting positions.
“We don’t have any bad thoughts about each other and we are a very friendly team, so fighting to start will help with our connections and make us better,” said senior goalkeeper Kai Reese.
In addition to determining who will be on the starting lineup, the coaches also have to decide who will be on varsity and who will be on JV. There were more than 10 sophomores trying out for Varsity and there is not enough space for all of them to be on the team. “Deciding who stays on varsity and who goes down to JV is the hardest part for me.” said varsity coach Jason Davis before the final selections took place.
Having this much competition is helpful for both teams, because even if some go down to JV, they will be a big help for them, and probably see more time on the field.
“When I saw some of the sophomores go down to JV, I realized it was better for them to get more minutes in JV than be on varsity but get no minutes.” said former varsity player Addison Patchett.
Last season, the JV boys had a solid season with a 9-6-1 record. With a lot of the old JV players trying out for varsity, that leaves JV without as many players as the year before.
“We aren’t going to have the chemistry like we did last year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t build it up again with the new coming players. I think it’s going to be fun and competitive because we get to play with new people and make new connections.” said freshman Jacob Snoddy.
Tryouts for both teams have ended, and varsity had their first scrimmage against William Monroe on March 2, with regular season games starting on March 18. The first game is against Madison at home March 18 at 7:00 p.m. JV also started their season with a March 2 scrimmage against William Monroe. Their first game will be against Madison at 5:30 p.m. on March 18.
