If you look in the new gym on the banners, you will notice that the last time the boys soccer team won a state and conference championship was 1981. Although they did not win this year, after finishing out the season with an outstanding 17-3-1 record, the program holds high hopes for next year.
This year, the team made it as far as the semi-finals for the county tournament. Senior Co-Captain Timmy Kiernan reflected that they have not made it past the first round of counties in his four years as a varsity player. Unfortunately, the team lost this game and did not head to the county finals.
“I think if we keep putting in exceptional effort, we’ll accomplish exceptional things,” said Co-Captain Torsten Kolind commenting on how they did throughout the season. Kolind added on that “the guys have worked really hard” and going undefeated for the first half of the games is great for the Verona soccer program.
“We have heart this year,” said Kiernan, who cited team chemistry as a big factor in what made this team different than past years. Kiernan admitted that they are not the best team talent wise, but because they are “all best friends,” they are more united than ever before and have come to expect contributions from every member of the team.
Because Verona is a small school, the boys soccer team is grouped with other small schools in a lower, less talented flight. As a consequence, they have not received much state recognition for their amazing season, even though they have beaten tougher schools such as East Side who is in the best flight.
Their toughest game of the season, according to both captains, was in fact against East Side in the first round of the county tournament. They won that game 2-1.
Despite their great success, Kiernan felt that they “have to learn to lose sometimes.” While they were undefeated through their first 13 games, he thinks “the most important thing is winning a state championship.”
Although they did not win the state championships, the boys soccer team won the 2011 conference championships and has had their best season in years.
