With the winter sports season already in full swing, the UC High’s Boys Varsity Soccer Team is planning to score their way into CIF this season.

   The team struggled last year with a 5-12-3 record, and players agreed there was a problem with cohesiveness last season         .

   “We started out strong and won our first game against St. Augustine High, but a lot of people started to quit the team, and that’s when we started losing,” said Center Midfielder Alexander Churnes.

   Many players from last year’s team didn’t return this year since most of them were seniors, so there are not many returning varsity players. “[Last year,] we didn’t work well together,” explained Left Back Dylan Plaster. “We had a few really good players that tried to carry the team.”

   “We lost around 12 seniors last year,” said Churnes. “It’ll be like a brand new team this year, so we’ll see how it goes.”

   Tryouts were held November 14 and continued into the following week.

   “This is my second year at UC High. Last year, I was the JV coach, so this is my first year as head coach. With over half the varsity team leaving, it’s going to be a new team this year, and we’ll have to make it our own,” said Coach Steve Shephard. Shephard explained how the health of the team will play a major factor in its success: “What’s important this year is the fitness of the team. They have to take it more seriously and be more committed. I think that was lacking a litttle bit last year wih a lot of the seniors.” “On Monday, we had about 115 people show up to tryouts,” said Churnes. “The coaches actually sent returning players home early [on Tuesday], so they could really focus on watching the freshmen,” added Churnes.

   “We’ve played longer together, and I think we can connect better together,” said Plaster.

   “We’re just going to get back to the fundamentals playing good soccer, basic soccer, and having guys that are committed to the team,” said Shephard. “I would just like to see the team improve as a team.”

   The players opened up their season with an match against San Dieguito Academy in Encinitas, California.

   “This year, we have a lot of seniors, and I think the motivation behind it being our last year will help push us to do better,” said Plaster.

   Although the team hasn’t been doing as well as it would like, the players hope to turn it around this season with a new vigor and passion behind their playing.