Gallery • 10 Photos

By Sarah Morgan

Senior Spencer Butterfield sticks out his arm as he races his St. James opponent to the ball on Tuesday, Sept. 6.

The boys soccer team brought home a victory over St. James Academy Thunder with a score of 2-1 on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at the College Boulevard Activity Center.

Senior Sam Lopez attributed the team’s success to their strong defense and possession of the ball during the game.

“I think we played really well, we possessed the ball, made lots of runs and we held them defensively pretty much the entire game,” Lopez said. “We had one fluke and that’s when they scored, but other than that we pretty much had them the whole game.”

Due to the team’s  change into the EKL, the boys had to adjust to the new level of competition, different opponents and the overall pressure of the move.

“We really took [the game] seriously,” senior Adam Grube said. “We had never played the Thunder before and it was a new league, EKL, so we’re trying to do well in the league. It was a very important game for us so we definitely took all of the necessary precautions to make our plays as good as we possibly could, and I think it all worked.”

According to Lopez, the team was more pumped up and prepared for this game, due to the fact they suffered a loss last week.

“Because of the loss last week against Shawnee Heights, we were hungry for a win and we really didn’t want to lose to the Thunder,” Lopez said. “The Thunder has been one of the opponents we have been looking forward to playing against since the season started. I think we were all a lot more focused.”

Grube was not surprised that the team walked away with a win.

“I definitely expected to win,” Grube said. “We put in a good performance, we expected to put in a few more goals than just two, but in the end we got the win and that’s all that really matters.”

The next boys soccer game is Thursday, Sept. 8 against the Shawnee Mission Northwest Cougars, at home.