Playing their last year for OHS, the boys varsity soccer team explain their bittersweet moments and memories that’ll last a lifetime. With a whopping 42 goals this season, seniors Mohammed Alkenani (12), Isaac Lillard (12) and Seth Gallagher (12) share what playing high school soccer is all about. 

While the techniques were important to haggle down, time management was just as much as a struggle sometimes. The clock on the field was not the only clock working against them.

“It’s hard to manage time, between everything like working, soccer school, homework, but it builds character,” Lillard said. 

Time management on and off the field can only get you so far, but the strength of the relationships between the players was just as vital. Gallagher and Lillard said that the team’s yoga session helped to stretch their hamstrings and strengthen their friendships. 

“So basically he had us down for like 30 minutes and made us do yoga and he was being so passive aggressive with every single thing he was saying definitely really helped us,” Lillard said. “Ever since that day, we were good.”

The boys agreed that the team is certainly a family, but getting to that point wasn’t easy. 

“Awe, we’re a family…We get along well now. In the beginning of the season it was hard. We had some miscommunications,” Lillard said. 

When the boys resolved their inner problems, that’s when the team’s goals started to really go off the charts. 

“Rockwood Summit, for sure. That’s like the best. They were ranked like top ten in the state, and we ended up beating them…We were also flagged down a player because we had a red card, so that just showed like…our passion for the game,” Lillard said.  

The team said there were definitely winning and losing moments this season, including being called “chokeville” for losing against Parkway Central, though this hasn’t stopped the boys from loving the game.

“It was our second home game this year against Parkway Central. We scored two goals in the first minute and first second and then we ended up losing two in the second half,” Lillard said. 

With such a nostalgic year and the biggest learning experiences, the boys share what they will miss most about high school soccer.  

“The teammates,” Alkenani said.