With the start of a new year and a fresh season, the varsity boys’ soccer team celebrated a 4-1 victory against McCollum High School on Jan. 2. This win brings their overall record to 5-6 in the 2024-2025 season, setting a stable tone for the remaining games.

Improvement often comes from learning from setbacks, and senior midfielder Juan Peñaranda shares his mindset when approaching a match. 

“You have to have a short memory since the games are very close together,” Peñaranda said. “You have to give 100% in each of the games. I also trust 100% in my abilities.” 

Peñaranda’s advice to junior varsity players is clear: 

“They have to take advantage of every single opportunity,” Peñaranda said. “Whether in training or in games, they need to show the coaches that they have the level required to play varsity.”

Every new season brings its own challenges. Senior central back captain, Hassan Salih, emphasizes the importance of playing simply, moving to open spaces and communicating on the field. Despite this strategy, he acknowledges that the team struggles with consistency this year. However, he remains hopeful about turning the season around.

“We’re a good team, but we just lack consistency,” Salih said. “We finish off strong, but we need to work on it from the beginning to the end, hopefully we’ll turn this season around.”

There are always ups and downs in sports, but celebrating your team’s accomplishments is important. Wingback Anthony Aguilera-Soto shared his proudest moment of the season so far.

“So far, the team has achieved a lot physically,” Aguilera-Soto said. “But for me, it’s more about what we’ve accomplished mentally. We can almost predict each other’s movements and passes, and it makes me have high hopes for later on in the season.”