The Warren soccer team, which is very young this year, is hoping to end the season on a high note. Despite the youthness of the team, some players have stood out this year.
“Julien Patton has done an amazing job this season. As a junior goalkeeper, he has had multiple games with 15+ saves. His clean sheet at Ben Davis was a standout performance. Edwin Martinez, our senior captain, has been an incredible leader on and off the field. He has played many different positions for us, often playing the entire 80 minutes, and fighting through injuries and pain to guide the team,” head coach Robbie Pels said.
Coaches and other players are doing their best to get better to be ready for the rest of the postseason, because it has not been an easy task so far.
“We started our postseason with the county tournament away at North Central. The first time we played North Central, we lost by six goals. This time around, we played a really tough game and lost 0-1. That was quite an improvement and shows our growth over the season,” Pels said.
Next up, the Warriors play in the state tournament, starting with sectionals, where they hope to win out and get to regionals.
“Next up we have sectionals at Lawrence North. We lost a close game to them during the season, so we're hoping to improve on that and get a first round victory. It won't be easy, but we are ready. From there, we will push to win the sectional championship,” Pels said.
In the coming seasons, coaches hope to continue to improve the team's record and performance.
“Looking forward, I'm really happy with the group we have. Part of the plan this season was to have many young players on the varsity team getting experience. There's been multiple games where eight freshmen and sophomores got varsity playing time. So I'm excited to keep working with this core of players who are only going to get better and better. We will challenge the MIC and for Sectional trophies in the next two years,” Pels said.
As well as the high school team, coaches are helping build the future of Warren Central soccer by bringing up soccer through younger kids in the township.
“Soccer in Warren Township is getting better and better. Warriors Soccer Club is in its second season, so we have excited young players who are future Warriors. And this young group we have in high school now will continue to train in the offseason and get more comfortable with each other so we're bought in and ready to kick some butt next season,” Pels said.
Overall, the team has had a lot of good things to look back on this year, and hoping to make more memories in the coming years.
“[I am looking forward to] ]seeing the program go from bottom of the MIC to contenders for the Conference. I would love to see our program push the furthest it’s ever been in the state competition,” assistant coach Austin Abbett said.