For a sport that is considered the most popular sport in the world, soccer seems like it’s such a small thing here in LeFlore County. Soccer was founded in England in the 19th century. The original name for it was “Association Football.” Soccer is a sport that is played by two teams of 11 players. The objective of this game is to kick the ball into the opponent’s goal to score. Senior Goalie Laney Edwards and Freshman Attacking Midfielder Melanie Matias are on the varsity team. They have been working hard to achieve their goal of making it to playoffs. All the girls on the team have become very close with one another. Laney believes that their biggest challenge is the team’s lack of confidence in their abilities. The coaches have switched players around to where they fit best and have made tiny adjustments to help improve their performance.
Junior Striker Jacob Gutierrez and Sophomore Goalie Jonny Baeza are on the varsity team. Their goal for the rest of the season is to make it to state. Jacob thinks their biggest challenges so far have been not finishing their goals and closing out games. They say the worst thing about the season so far is losing, but have also learned from those losses. Jonny loves having fun after the games (win or lose) “The best thing about the season was how much fun we have after games win or lose we keep our heads high and are focused on the next game.”
Both teams have been working extremely hard to achieve all of their goals for the remainder of the season. After wins from both teams last night at Stilwell, Poteau faces the Hilldale Hornets at Hilldale on Thursday.
