Boys soccer triumphantly held its ground against defending 3A state champions Clarksburg in a hard fought 1-0 victory over the Coyotes Oct. 6. With a crucial win, the team has turned around a slow start to the season, with the record standing at 4-4-1.
The Bulldogs are coming back after three consecutive losses at the start of the season, albeit to schools such as DeMatha and Mount St. Joseph, which are the top two and three teams in Maryland, respectively.
“We have turned around the season,” coach Arnold Tarzy said. “[I’m impressed] with their discipline.”
In addition to strong discipline, the Bulldogs, particularly the defense, played with grit and patience in freezing weather for 45 minutes before senior captain Stephen Hauschild scored the first goal in the final 10 seconds before halftime, sending the ball to the back of the net after the first shot deflected off the crossbar.
The first half consisted of several missed chances and the offense dropping deep to defend against the Coyotes who were placing a lot of pressure. After the goal and throughout the second half, CHS was clearly the superior side, retaining more possession and playing more aggressively.
“Everyone was persistent, we could have finished with more,” senior captain Richmond Van Winter said. “But I’m happy [with our win]. This [was] our first shutout.”
The Bulldogs also went on to win their next two games, beating Wootton 3-1 and Sherwood 3-2.
“We started off scoring two goals [against Wootton but] our second half we took it easy and we were playing defense for the rest of the game,” Hauschild said. “[But] it felt great, beating our rivals is always the nicest. [Our strength] was our energy level.”
At Sherwood, which was also Senior Night, the boys fell behind two goals before halftime but came back to win in overtime, 3-2. Freshman Tobias Kastan also stood out, generating plays and creating scoring opportunities whenever possible.
“[He’s a] freshman and our leading goal-scorer,” Hauschild said. “He’s really stepped up [and] impressed us.”
According to Van Winter, the team will look to him to score more goals in the future.
The team displayed camaraderie on the field, openly communicating and providing support wherever necessary. A largely senior-heavy team, Van Winter and senior Joe Ulica provided vocal leadership and commanded presence in the midfield, representing how the team has found an effective combination of experience and players eager to learn.
“[The leadership] is outstanding, it’s made the difference,” Tarzy said. “We have better individuals leading this season [and] we have a lot of young talent.”
According to junior Felipe Ros, part of the success is attributed to team chemistry. He says that last season the players weren’t as much of a team, and they also had a losing record.
“Last year we were really young [and] our leadership was so bad, no one really liked each other,” Hauschild said. “This year is going to be different. We want to go out with a title.”
