Paxton Diana ‘26
Nov 8, 2024
Last weekend, Blue Storm’s soccer teams— boys and girls varsity, JV, and boys thirds—traveled to the Hill School for their respective games. Except for the girls varsity team, these were their last matches of the season.
The teams trained diligently in preparation for their games. Girls varsity head coach Kristen Pixler explained, “We focused on moving the ball and trying to prepare our players coming off of injury back into the team. We knew Hill had been playing well—they are senior-heavy—and it was going to be a challenge. We have been reframing our expectations in the MAPL to go into every match knowing that anything could happen; if we play together as a connected unit, we can win.”
Varsity boys head coach Skyler Clark took a more pragmatic approach. “Practices are planned down to the minute. Everything is laid out ahead of time, and all the boys need to do is show up and improve each other. I believe we succeeded in doing that in every training session, whether technical, tactical, or a combination of both.”
The girls varsity soccer team has enjoyed an impressive season. Annie Mohr ’26 said, “We've been doing pretty well. Since I've been here, we haven't won a MAPL game, but we had two MAPL wins this year.” Her teammate and captain, Lily Killinger ’26, added, “The team had been doing really well this season. We’ve been putting in the work and made the environment fun but competitive.” Similarly, on the boys side, Grant Wilkinson ’26 echoed, “The standard is the highest it’s been since I’ve been here. The team culture is good, and everyone shows up daily wanting to get better.”
The JV teams prepared diligently, too. JV boys goalie William Choi ’26 said, “We’ve been working a lot on finishing, transitions, and playing it quick which is the style of play we want from our players.” JV girls winger Liza Hoa ’27 noted, “The team has been developing basic skills and working with the ball a little better, to gain more control.” Still, the players made sure to keep things light. Swing player Abby Kendall ’26 explained, “The team works well together, and though we are able to [focus] on improving at times, we are also able to have fun during practice.”
Their efforts have been paying off. JV player Jack Pollinger ’26 said, “The team is doing really well this season. While it may not always reflect on the scoreboard, the guys are improving in between every game, and it's showing.”
Each team approached their MAPL matches with focus. Boys thirds head coach, Benjamin McNeil said, “Our goal was to give Hill a good game and finish the season undefeated.” Thirds player Jacob Buschkin ’28 added, “Some people’s goals are to end the season on a good note, and others hope to set themselves up to be on the JV team next year.” JV player Blanca Coronado ’27 said, "Our goal is to execute our game plan effectively and come away with a win. Looking further ahead, we will probably work on consistency and we will continue to practice harder." Choi agreed, adding, “We hope JV will become a place where players can really grow without too much pressure on their back and have fun. We would really like to play with energy and composure, which is what we weren’t able to do even in some of our winning games.”
Despite the teams’ efforts ending up in losses, there were many positives about the matches. Pixler acknowledged her players’ hard work. “We lost zero to three but were missing a key player that forced some changes in our lineup. We also had some attacking players come back from injury, which really helped to transition and move the ball well through the midfield.” After losing 1-3, boys varsity player Pedro Abranches Pederneiras ’26 praised his team’s performance. “We played very well: mixing individual and group abilities, keeping our standards high the whole game, and always trying to be better players in the game.”