With the new season in full swing, the boys varsity soccer team aims to place first in their league to compete in CCS, even though they did not perform as well as they hoped during the preseason, defender Adrian Julliard said.

However, because a lot of the team graduated last year, the space was filled by sophomores and juniors who moved up from JV. As a result, the team has lost a few games recently, Juilliard, a senior, said.

To excel as a team, they work a lot to hone their skills and sometimes apply their abilities in scrimmages, center-back Alex Zhang said. Depending on the day, they do possession drills focused on keeping control of the ball, or positional drills, where they practice formations employed in games, Zhang said.

Beyond personal mechanics and team tactics, another major area the team could improve on is team synergy, forward and defender Siddarth Garimella said.

“I’d say we need to communicate with each other more,” Garrimella, a junior, said. “We just have to have trust in each other. If we have trust [in] each other, we can [play] well and pursue our goal of becoming first in our league.”

Additionally, as a large portion of the team is new to varsity, Zhang said that it is important for newcomers to adjust to their varsity coach.

“Because a lot of [the] team hasn’t played for our coach, we really need to understand our roles better,” Zhang said. “Different coaches will require different things for their players, and I think we [need to] have a better understanding of what to do at moments.”

The team’s enthusiasm on the field is beneficial, Zhang said

“When everyone’s on the field, it looks like they want the ball, [and it] looks like they want to fight for the team,” Zhang said. “Team spirit and morale are really high, even though we lost the last three games.”