Oratory Prep soccer this year has had so many ups and downs. As the season is a little more than halfway through, so much has happened since the kickoff in early September. The varsity and junior varsity teams are the two main programs of the school, but the one that has been overlooked the most is our Oratory Prep freshman soccer team. They are currently 1-6, but let’s go even deeper with this mighty soccer team and how they are really the better players on and off the field.

The freshman soccer team started strong with 23 players way back in late August into early September. They had a very strong team that had a lot of depth; that was until some of the better players of the program moved up to the higher levels. The freshman team was doubted by everyone else, which then motivated them to be great. In an interview with Coach Hughes, the freshman team head coach, he said, “the philosophy and the mechanics are there, teams are just beating us by a hair.” Coach Hughes coming into the season was overlooked by all of the coaches, but he is now a nominee for Union County Coach of the Year. The Rams started with a 3-1 loss against New Providence, which Hunter Lloyd tied up with a goal, but was eventually lost on a handball. The next game was against Governor Livingston and was a highly anticipated matchup. The Rams took a very big lead to end the half 4-0. Charlie Spiegel, Hunter Lloyd, and Enzo Sarrango scored a total of five goals and led the Rams to shine in victory. The next two games were very tough, which were finals of 6-1 against Cranford, and 7-0 against New Providence. The Rams first half ended with a plea for help.

The next few games were played very well by the Rams, despite the losses. They started the second half against Governor Livingston at home which was a very exciting game. The Rams were down early 1-0 until Charlie Spiegel tied it up late into the first half. The Rams would later give up two goals and would suffer a heartbreaking loss at home. Next was Dayton, which was lost on a miscommunication issue despite the Rams outplaying them. The last game they played was against South Orange, which was another tough 4-1 loss.

With the Rams season almost coming to an end, there are only some questions that need to be answered: What is the plan for the next few games, how many goals will Spiegel and Lloyd combine for, and what is Coach Hughes’ strategy for the end of the year?