HF Soccer Season Comes to an End

Last Monday, HF’s soccer season officially came to an end, after a nearly 3 month long run. This also meant the players on the varsity soccer team had to say goodbye to another great season, and to each other. 

The team had an outstanding run this year, with 9 wins and 3 losses, playing districts like Deer Park, Sayville, and Rocky Point. They made it all the way to playoffs, but eventually lost to East Islip, and their season was finished. Everyone can agree it was a great season, but according to the players, it was about way more than their win-loss ratio.

Junior Jonathan Prior reminisced about how much the team meant to him, and some of the memories it gave him. He stated, “That team is like family to me, that team is my family. It sucks that we lost to Islip, but our loss made us realize how much we really cared about each other.” He continued, “ My favorite game was Rocky Point, we won 4-0 and I got playing time. Everyone was so hyped after that game. My favorite memory would have to be Sweet Mamas after practice. There's no one else I’d rather have gone through all this with, the dynamic we have is just so good.”

When asked about how he was feeling about playing next year, he stated, “Obviously we’re gonna miss our seniors a lot, and we know they’re gonna miss us. It won’t be the same, but I’m still excited to play again next year. We’re gonna prove ourselves even more, and win county champs.”

Another Junior and player, Matthew Lusby, said, “Everyone on that team is like my brother. I mean the seniors were great to us. I may be biased because I’ve talked to some of them since I was like 9, but they were really great to the younger kids, which I think made it feel most like a family.” He went on, “My favorite game had to be Rocky Point, my friend Owen had a crazy assist and we all started screaming for him. Everyone on the team was always supportive like that, it was amazing. We ended up winning the game too.”

When asked if it was ever really about winning or losing, he stated, “Winning was obviously a priority coming from a winning program, we were all highly motivated. However, I think our losses taught us more than our wins, and when we were faced with losing situations we maintained our composure and the family setting we had. So it was kind of about winning, but not really. Not fully.”

 Lusbys thoughts on next year are similar to Priors, “I feel like we’re gonna have a great squad and make it back to playoffs, and hopefully even go further. I really think we can do it because our team is hungry, we want it badly, almost as vengeance for the seniors and for ourselves.”

Overall, HF soccer had an incredible run. The boys said the team taught them resilience, and the importance of teamwork, from everyone including on the bench. It's great to know that the season was so gratifying for the team, both on and off the field.