Oratory’s Junior Varsity Soccer season recently came to a close with their loss to Dayton in the county tournament. Throughout the season, the JV squad persevered through lots of challenges and adversity, notching major wins against some of the top schools in the state. This group was loaded with guys who will be making major impacts on the varsity level in the near future, along with some promising freshmen.
The Rams started their preseason with a dominant win over Bayonne, defeating them 6-0. The Rams followed this with two more shutout victories over Rutherford and Glen Ridge, totaling 12 goals in a three-game span. Freshman Felix Cook played a major role in being the most reliable player on the roster. While the team had an impressive start, the beginning of the regular season brought its challenges. The season started off with a tough road loss to Westfield 4-1. Five days later, they tied a talented Saint Peter’s team then lost to SPF, before tying Governor Livingston. The Rams then traveled to Madison and Cranford, where they lost 3-2 on both occasions.
While this was a tough stretch for the Rams, goalkeepers Caylor Mendez and Sol Sebastian Wright kept spirits high. This pair of juniors not only were great leaders but also kept the net clean throughout the season. Following this game, the Rams turned things around with a win against rival Summit 3-2. To continue this momentum, they beat Linden and Plainfield, then New Providence twice. This hot streak was much to the credit of striker Lucius Brachfeld, who led the team in goals. To close out the season, the Rams lost a tough battle to Johnson, then defeated Union Catholic 4-1. In the first game of the county tournament, the Rams were defeated in a hard-fought battle against Dayton, losing 2-1.
When asked about the season, sophomore striker Brennan McEvoy remarked “I think we performed very well throughout the season. We had great chemistry and just worked perfectly together. Shoutout coach for the lineup. This was definitely one of the better seasons for JV soccer but there’s always room for improvement.” McEvoy made big contributions throughout the season and was known by his teammates as the hardest worker on the team. Andrew Parke also made a big impact, commenting “We had a good overall season, we started off slow, but came around after a little bit. We had good chemistry, and coach was great, per usual.” Expect to see these two and everyone on the roster make big strides over the offseason, and contribute to the future of OP soccer.
