The 2023 Englewood High School boys varsity soccer team is proud of its amazing teamwork and brotherhood on and off the field. The team ended its season 6-8-1.
Left-back Hector Ramirez was a hard-working player who athletes say is quick and has great communication, “I think that my soccer season is going good and bad, Due to me always being out for injuries and the losses and the wins that we’ve had earned.”
Ramirez says this season it’s different from last year since he got injured in the middle of the season, ”I missed last year, you know, it was very hard to bounce back and knowing that I wasn’t going to be on JV anymore.”
Ramirez says he prepared and bounced back from his injury and started on varsity. “It made my heart drop to my stomach because it was something new that I’d never experienced before having to adapt to the intensity and the physicality of other soccer teams and any varsity sport in general. It was a roller coaster but slowly I’ve been adapting to the level of physicality.”
Ramirez says he and his teammates have a bond outside of soccer, “especially Josue Lopez. He’s a senior. I usually go to the Rec Center with him either on Saturdays or Sundays and we go play basketball, and with other friends, we go out and eat or we go to parks or we go to the mall which is pretty fun, you know, having that bond with upperclassmen knowing that I’m their friend and that they took me under their wing is always a good feeling.”
Josue Lopez was a striker this season, “It’s when you play the most on top. And you help by working with your midfielders trying to score a goal and passing it.”
His favorite part of the season? “Just going to different schools all around the state and it seemed like different places for us that we had never seen before.”
He believes he played his hardest but the journey to state didn’t work out, “I mean, it’s kind of sad, but like, sometimes you won’t get to do what you want. Because sometimes you have to put more effort in.”
Senior Marco Lopez Ajcuc was the goalkeeper this season. He has played all four years of high school, I just like the the good saves I’d make and experiencing things with my team.” He feels the team is united off the field, ” Most of us talk to each other.”
He was upset they didn’t make it to state, “For me, it was kind of sad because we couldn’t make it because it was my last year but we gave it our all. It’s just the results aren’t gonna show how we actually played.”
Josue Lopez-Diego played left back, “I was just playing defense but kind of on like the sides.” He really liked this team, “It’s specific because I think we have good chemistry kind off and on the field and we’re all friends off the field too.”
