After turning around their regular season, the magic of the boys varsity soccer team ran out in the playoffs.
The team finished as semifinalists in the DCIAA playoffs and quarterfinalists in states. It was the first season the program fell short of winning either championship since 2021.
“We lost so much talent with seniors graduating and had to build with our new team to begin the season. We really learned how important passion is for the game over talent,” said senior defender Max Fotter. “Some of these teams weren’t as good as us talent wise, but wanted it more than us.”
“Once we had that great mix of passion and talent later on in the year, we felt unstoppable. It was just about how consistent we could be with both in the playoffs,” Fotter added.
After their season opener was forfeited by Roosevelt, the Tiger’s first game of the season was at home against one of their biggest rivals, St John’s. The match was closely fought and very competitive, but the scoreboard said otherwise, as the Tigers lost 3-0.
Despite the result, things were still looking up for the Tigers, but in mid-September things took a turn for the worse. After losses to DC International and Coolidge, the latter being their first regular season DCIAA loss since 2019, it was clear that the team had fallen short of establishing a proper identity.
“We needed to stay serious in training,” said junior goalkeeper Jonah Beers. “I’d be warming up with the other goalies, I’d look around and see all of the team not really being serious, so we gotta work on that for next year.”
Things would get worse before they got better. When the team lost 6-0 at the hands of St. Albans, it was the confirmation that this was not the old boys soccer team. However, following this monumental loss, fortunes appeared to turn around for the Tigers.
They would close out the regular season on a nine game winning streak, with non-conference wins coming against Sidwell and Eleanor Roosevelt. A little over one month from their slow start, the Tigers would end the regular season with two season defining wins, a 3-0 victory over Bell, who are historically their biggest conference opponent, and a 1-0 triumph over Washington International School, their first win over them since 2017.
Despite a fairly rocky regular season, the Tigers went into the DCIAA playoffs in the best form they had been in all season. Everything was going to plan in their quarterfinal match against Cardozo, with the Tigers leading 2-0 with 20 minutes left in the game. Then, Cardozo scored two goals within three minutes to tie the game, in a matchup that was expected to be an easy Tigers win.
This would send the match to extra time, and before the game went into penalty kicks the Tigers came across heroics. A cleared ball in overtime fell to sophomore midfielder Paxton Sand, who took one touch with his chest, before smashing the ball into the top left corner to score a beauty of a winner.
“I just hit it, and after I did I thought, wow that actually went in,” said Sand.
Despite the eventual win, the team knew that they shouldn’t have been in that position to begin with. When the DCIAA semifinal came around, the team knew they would need a better performance in order to make it to their fourth consecutive DCIAA championship. They faced a Bell team they had put three goals on just two weeks prior, but struggled with getting the ball upfield and couldn’t match the pace of their opponents. Ultimately, they lost the semifinals 2-0.
Even with dropping out of the city tournament, the season wasn’t over yet. The Tigers would begin their DCSAA campaign with a first round clash against Washington Latin. However, just like their city playoff game against Cardozo, the Tigers would give up a two goal lead late on, as the match would end 3-3 forcing another extra time. Just like the Cardozo match, the Tigers would win the game off of individual brilliance, as senior captain Quinn McInerney dribbled past two defenders and beat the goalie at his near post for a goal, giving the Tigers a 4-3 win. The team had survived another nail-biting game.
In the state semifinal game, the Tigers matched up against St. Albans. The first half of the game was close, staying knotted at zero for 35 minutes as each team missed opportunities. However, St. Albans would score twice just before halftime, and run away with the second half, finishing the game 8-0 and ending the Tigers season in cruel fashion. “I don’t think those losses to St. Albans reflected how we play as a team,” said senior Luther Sand. “In the first half, we showed we were playing better, but over time we kinda just fell apart.”
Those sentiments overarch the team’s season. The end of year results spoke the message of what could’ve been. Now, the team is motivated entering the off-season stretch looking to retool after falling short. •
