The Jesuit Junior Varsity soccer team finished strong on Tuesday, March 22, 2011, with a win over Sunset to secure the 1st or 2nd spot in district. Although there was a brutal wind, freshman Juan Torres scored in the first few minutes. Then followed a free kick goal by Sean Badger ’14 and a break away goal by Cal Huntley ‘12. After this season ending victory, the Jesuit JV held a record of 16 wins, 2 ties, and 3 losses.
To better comprehend the amazing feat that was accomplished by this group of boys, you have to look at the age of each individual player. Despite the tradition of having the Junior Varsity squad consist of only sophomores and juniors, the team this year consisted of 5 juniors, 9 sophomores, and 5 freshmen.
So, with a 2-year gap between half of the team, many people wondered, despite the talent present, how successful the season would end up being. Freshman midfielder Chris Wengierski commented on the season, saying plain and simply, “It was a success.” Chris stepped up as one of the younger kids on the team and helped to bridge the gap between juniors and freshmen. Also, when asked about the age
difference between teammates, sophomore center defender Bubba Chavez remarked, “At first, it was weird having a team with three different grades on it. Once we got used to it I think it made us stronger.”
After two losses in tournaments and a loss to W.T. White in the first district game, Jesuit started on a streak of wins. But, midway through the season, the leading scorer, Brandon Ozier ’14, was moved up to varsity and Matt Mills ’13 suffered a season ending injury. Despite these key losses, everyone stuck together and continued winning, with forwards Ryan Su ’13, Juan Torres ’14 and Colin Karlix ’12 taking control in the absence of Ozier.
But not only did these three score, as goals came from right midfielder Cal Huntley ’12, center midfielders Sean Badger ’14 and Chris Wengierski ’14, and left midfielder Grant VanKirk ’13. In the back, the defense of Alex Reinkemeyer ’12, Lane Acosta ’12, Nathan Larkin ’12, Bubba Chavez ’13, Erick Narvaez ’13, and ’14 Guy Harris as well as goalies Jeff Fulcher ’13 and J.D. Feist ’13 allowed 7 goals all season, a minimal number compared to the 54 goals that Jesuit scored on opponents.
Justin Hayward, a junior outside midfielder, was one of the few players on the junior varsity team last year. When asked about this season compared to last year, Hayward responded, “This year was definitely different. This was the first year I have played with such a difference of age groups. But, despite age, the freshmen and sophomores really did come out and show their game and we played our best.” Goalie Jeff Fulcher commented on the team’s growth, saying, “When it came down to the end we had become a team, we had worked hard as a team, and we had won as a team.” Jeff then summed up the season in 2 sentences: “When we came on the field there weren’t such things as freshmen, sophomores and juniors. We overcame that and became more than three different grade levels; we became teammates.”
Photography by Charles Mathis
