By Sam Clark ‘19
Bellarmine’s varsity soccer team raced out to a fast start this year, starting the season 10-0-3 and soaring to rank 4th in the nation on MaxPreps. Along the way, they knocked off powerhouse teams like Saint Francis and Archbishop Mitty. However, with the second half of WCAL play and the playoffs looming, the Bells know there is still plenty of work to do to finish the season strong.
As senior Andrew Hartung ‘19 put it, “I think we have been doing pretty well so far, but there are definitely still some things we can work on and improve and practice. We need to stay humble and hungry for the rest of the season.” Senior Josh Fumia ‘19 added specifics, noting that “we still need to keep our composure in games to make sure we play our game instead of panicking and rushing possessions.”
The Bells attribute a lot of their success to their team chemistry. Andrew Hartung explained that he believes “our chemistry is better than anyone else in WCAL, which plays a huge part in how successful we’ve been.” Captain and senior Casey Jaeb ‘19 agreed, stating “I think the team chemistry coming into the year has really improved. Even though none of our starters play on the same club team, we play together very well because we are such good friends with one another.”
Looking forward the team has set high expectations and goals for the rest of the year. Junior Gabby Martinez stated “Right now it looks like we are going for it. We wanna win WCAL, CCS, and States.” Yoni Aidlberg ‘21 echoed his desire to win all three of those titles. The team knows winning all three titles is a daunting task, but they are up to the challenge and working hard.
The team looks to maintain their momentum as they face a brutal stretch in their schedule over the next five games. The varsity soccer team hopes to add another CCS banner by the time March rolls around.
