Alongside three other SJS teams, boys’ soccer went head to head against Episcopal High School (EHS) on the Knights’ turf Jan. 23.

“Even though we didn’t win, it was the best we have played all year. It’s a good sign for the games to come,” sophomore Matthew Garnett said.

The team was pinned in their half for the majority of their game, but the defense persevered until the final two minutes. The opposing team scored their one and only goal during a penalty kick.

“Even after the goal, we created several chances that could have evened the score. However, it was not quite enough,” Garnett said.

Although the team lost, they took pride in key moments. Senior Stephen Spears almost scored two goals within the last five minutes.

“The highlight had to be stoppage time of the second half because we were pushing hard,” freshman John Boom said.

The team has high hopes for the Southern Preparatory Conference (SPC).

“Our goal is to win SPC this year, so practices are very serious and difficult. For the future, we need to work on being clinical in the box and finishing the opportunities we create. If we do that, we undoubtedly will win SPC,” Boom said.

The team has a record of 5-8 with one tie in counter games and 7-7 and one tie overall.

“We’re so close on the soccer team. We’re united because of our successes and also because of our failures. We’ve lost a couple of times recently, but we also realized what we have to do differently,” junior Joe Faraguna said.