Ana Espinoza

HUDDLED. The boys varsity team gathers in prayer before facing another opponent.

The sun is gradually melting into the sky, the turf is hot and the crowd is reeling with energy as the fans proudly show their love towards the teams on both sides. 11 players line up ready to sprint as the opening kick is made. This isn’t Fort Osage Football, it’s the Soccer team who has been dominant this season.

The soccer team coverage isn’t as grand as in other sports. JV Soccer Coach Rayn Tupinio thinks the team deserves more coverage. 

“The soccer team gets an okay amount of coverage; I’m always in favor of getting more. The coverage has been the same for the past decade, but I would like for it to be more.” Tupinio said. 

For the last two years, the boys soccer team has been a steady team. They have won 72 percent of their games this season, with 8 wins and 3 losses. The team ended the 2022-2023 season at 11-8, winning 58 percent of their games and going 4-3 in the district. Junior, Jackson Taylor feels that that the initial games were successful.

“The first couple games went really well; the last game could’ve been a little bit better, but all in all, they’re doing good.” Taylor said.

Improvement is always expected for the team. Tupinio looks forward to the team’s set of skills.

“We can always improve; we could be better at passing; we could be better at shooting; other than that, we played really well, so hopefully we could keep that up,” Tupinio said.

The team is giving it their all to get to conference. Varsity coach Ra Del Hinckley is unwavering in that vision.

“We won the preseason tournament and hopefully aim for winning the conference.” Hinckley said.

As the sun is no longer in sight, the players are heavily breathing and walking off the field after another amazing win. As fans start to empty the stands, you can feel the joy in the air as the opponents stands remain silent. Just like the students tomorrow morning, who aren’t celebrating the teams hard fought victory.