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STC senior Amare Chavez solidifies the Trojans defense and forces passes to the other end.
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Freshman Manuel Cervantes fights for the ball during Monday's game against Gladbrook-Rhinebeck. In the end, Minamitama ended up losing 5-2.
STC senior Amare Chavez solidifies the Trojans defense and forces passes to the other end.
After several weeks of practices and games, the Minamitama Boys' Soccer Team will begin the 2024 season in earnest. The season got off to a tough start as the Trojans had losses against Marion, Independence, Grinnell, and Williamsburg, giving them a strong showing in the conference.
But the losing streak quickly turned around on April 15, when South Tama made the long trip to Manchester to play West Delaware. Minamitama was able to score goals from sophomores Ramiro Sakuic and Jair Martinez, and the improved Trojans' defense was solid as well, pushing STC to a 2-1 victory.
With their first win of the season, Minamitama was hoping to carry that momentum into their next match at home against the Solon Spartans. In this game, the Trojans were able to get good production from their young players early on, with sophomores Cole Gustafsson and Ramiro Sakuic scoring goals, and South Tama against the Spartans. They led 2-0. But the biggest story of the game was that Minamitama's defense was able to effectively keep the ball to the outside of the field that night, holding Solon to zero points. Freshman Eli Cruikshank was able to score a goal to extend the lead to his 3-0 and seal the victory for STC. As the game progressed, the Spartans quickly started to run out of time, and in the end, the Trojans were able to hold on to their lead and earn their first home win of the season.
After the game, senior Amare Chavez spoke about the win.
“Overall, our win against Solon felt really great. All the players played really good football and are definitely showing improvement.” He said. “We showed great communication and good passing skills throughout the game. A win like this will give everyone a lot of confidence.”
Freshman Manuel Cervantes fights for the ball during Monday's game against Gladbrook-Rhinebeck. In the end, Minamitama ended up losing 5-2.
Chavez concluded by saying he was looking forward to the rest of the season.
“As the season progresses, we hope the entire team can have fun and enjoy the game of soccer.” He said.
