Gritty Defense Powers Boys Soccer to Playoffs

Islom Vakhobov ‘26 beats a Brooklyn Tech defender on Sept 29. *Photo: Francis Lindaman*

By CALEB SAMPSON and FRANCIS LINDAMAN

The Boys Soccer Team had a great run this year, qualifying for the playoffs and putting up some monumental stat lines. Though the team fell to Fort Hamilton on October 25 in a 3-0 loss, this year’s campaign showed growth for the program after a long, hard-fought season.

The boys squeaked into the postseason with a 5-2-3 record, sliding in at third in their division behind Brooklyn Tech and Grand St Campus. After a hot start, where they dominated George Westinghouse 16-0 on September 8 and took down Erasmus Hall Campus 5-0 on September 11, the Hornets hit a rough patch, with a loss and two ties over their next three games.

This prompted the team to go back to its roots: the overwhelmingly strong community they had worked so hard to build. Team captain and senior Asher Rushefsky, who had a standout year with 12 goals and eight assists, said one of the team’s best assets is “the way we all treat each other – we’re like one big family.”

Jayden Gayle, a junior midfielder, said, “We’re always talking to each other, motivating each other. We bring each other up after a mistake. Anything that happens, even if we’re down, losing, we’re always there to pick each other up.”

Strengthened by this community, the boys were able to battle through their down stretch and emerge as a newer, better team, with an authoritative 11-0 win over Erasmus on September 29 in which they pulled all their starters at halftime when they were already up 7-0. The Hornets demonstrated their lack of selfishness in the game, with every goal coming off an assist. Gayle broke out for two goals and four assists.

“The team played a huge role in my success because of how they motivate me every single day at practice,” he said.

The team then followed up a tie with a massive 10-1 win over George Westinghouse, followed by a 2-0 win over John Jay to secure a spot in the playoffs.

The team’s defense was especially stingy this year, allowing one goal or none in all ten regular season games, even against first place Brooklyn Tech, who narrowly topped the Hornets 1-0 in both of their showdowns. Jeremih Hurtado Garcia, a sophomore goalie, had 64 saves on the year in nine games while only allowing five goals.

Another big storyline this season was the departure of captain Elliot Ross, a defender, just before the postseason. Though Ross was only a sophomore, he already had a huge impact for the Hornets.

Roen Goldberg, a junior and goalkeeper, said, “Elliot influenced every aspect of the team. He was a leader on the field and was liked by everyone on the team.” Without Ross, the team lost not only one of their star players, but also one of their leaders.

Coach Daniel Warshall said, “Losing [Ross] was emotionally difficult as myself and everyone on the team loved having him there. He was extremely gifted, extremely demanding of himself, extremely competitive, and his loss was felt in the playoffs against Fort Hamilton.”

Despite the disappointing end to the season, the team has had lots to be proud of through their unwavering resilience, showing that they stick together when times get hard. After having finished 2-7-1 two years ago and 5-4-1 last season, the program is clearly on an upswing, and things are looking bright for the future.