Following a crushing 4-0 loss to Holy Trinity in the 2025 regional finals, the boys’ varsity soccer team entered this season determined to move forward, yet realistic about the challenges ahead. Last season’s playoff run ended abruptly, and the squad now finds itself relying on new faces with players stepping into roles they’ve never played before.
The team lost a large core of experienced contributors from last year: Ford Cash, GianCarlo Di Leo, Dillon Hoban, Maddox Hoffman, and Sean Sheehan. Providing the Bucs with depth in areas that were somewhat thin after last season, Juniors Mattew Null and Nate Swank have become important additions to the midfield and back line.
“Baseball is my main sport, but I’m really happy to have a bigger role on the soccer team this year. I was able to learn a lot from GianCarlo as a defender, so I would like to think that I am becoming the more physical part of the backline as he was,” Swank said.
These transitions have been made tougher by a string of early-season injuries. Senior and defender Alex Perkins has been limited by a hamstring strain, junior and goalie Andrew Rodgers is recovering from a concussion, and senior and striker RJ Munder is expected to miss four to six weeks with a torn calf.
Perkins feels that the team’s 1-2-1 start reflects growing pains more than their true potential.
“We’ve been performing poorly so far because we have very little depth while dealing with injuries and players missing from other sports. Last year, we really relied on guys like Maddox and Ford so we are testing out new formations and learning new positions. I think that it just takes time to get used to everyone’s playing styles again, but I feel that once we have everyone back, we can turn it around,” Perkins said.
Senior and centerback Jake Froot agreed that the group is still settling in.
“We’ve been underperforming and need to step up. I think developing our movement off the ball and game IQ will be crucial this season, but we are really close as a team, which is nice. We can be ourselves and that’s a great culture to be a part of,” Froot expressed.
Building off Froot’s point, sophomore and midfielder Daniel Reznik feels that the team’s main focus should be consistency.
“We’ve had good moments, but we’re not always reliable. Right now, we’re working on staying calm, organized, and growing each game,” Reznik shared.
Head Coach Kris Steeves, now in his sixth year with the program, has emphasized patience and development while maintaining high standards for the season.
“Our ultimate goal is to continue the success of recent seasons and maintain our district championship. But we lost some very impactful players, so we’ll need to work for each other more than ever. I like to think of my style as finding fun in the journey while striving for high standards in everything we do. Three terms I try to honor are ‘Have Fun. Work Hard. Get on With it.’ I will continue to use this philosophy to integrate less experienced players, while keeping the level high,” Steeves noted.
Despite the setbacks, the Bucs remain confident that time, health, and experience will bring the cohesion they need to succeed. With the returning leaders setting the tone, the team is focused less on their record and more on steady improvement. The Bucs’ next game will be on Thursday, December 4. They will be traveling to Delray to play American Heritage.
