South Windsor’s soccer team’s opening game against Enfield was canceled due to the immense heat on Thursday September 7th. With the game rescheduled to about a month from now, the new season opener was against Rocky Hill on Saturday September 9th. 

The Bobcats have gone through a significant change since last year’s season, losing twelve seniors, eight of them being starters. The team also is going into the season with a new formation, hoping to take advantage of the new group’s speed. The team adjusted during the preseason and appears to be doing pretty well, going 2-1-0 in the preseason. With only six returning seniors, only two or three of them who started last year.

¨The team this year is very inexperienced, and most of us [seniors] this year have not really gotten much play time other than Jake [Gattuso] and Drew [Monteserin]; this is my first time on the varsity team after taking two years off¨, said senior center back, Alexander Ezedine. 

The team is relatively young, but their new formation seems to be promising. Junior, Tyler Romero scored the boys season opener with an unassisted goal. Senior goalkeeper Elijah Chaimovich had two saves throughout the game, and in the second half Rocky Hill tied up the score with a penalty scored by senior Jason Nadeau, ending the game 1-1.

The relatively young and inexperienced teams seem to be improving with every game, and the team’s eye-catching speed seems to be helping their attack. The boys followed up their Rocky Hill game playing Tolland on Tuesday September 5th and celebrated a 3-2 win.

This Wednesday, September 27th, the South Windsor High School Boys Varsity Soccer team played away at E.O. Smith High School. The challenge of playing on another field did not stop the Bobcats, as they came home with a 7-0 win over E.O. Smith. 

Four people earned their spot on the score sheet. Senior Jake Gattuso, sophomore Hayden Xhokaxhiu, and junior Tyler Romero all had one, while senior Drew Monteserin had 4. Drew has had 10 goals in the last 5 games and is leading the team score sheet as one of the top scorers in the conference.

Hayden speaks on scoring his first goal of the season, ¨it feels great, I feel like I’m finally getting everything together and fitting into the team, helping everyone out.” Hayden is a young player with a lot of talent, playing on both defense and offense. Xhokachiu played his freshman year as a striker, and this year has an important role as the team’s center-back. 

Another impactful player that doesn’t show up on the score sheet often is Senior Steven Valois, who moved to South Windsor from Peru 2 years ago. Steven shows his competitiveness and skill sets in every play for the boys.

The team has yet to play a home game but is looking forward to their first on Friday, September 29th against RHAM High School. With RHAM being a harder target and the boys finally getting their chemistry in place, the game should be a great one. 

The hard work during practice has paid off as the boys are undefeated 5 games into the season. The Bobcats will do everything they can in order to maintain their winning streak.

The Bobcats played Hall on Tuesday, who in the past has been a very strong team. The Bobcat team is coming off a state title win last year, but also has lost some key players such as Lucas Almeida, who committed to UConn prior to his senior season last year. With both teams losing a lot of key players, the game was a fair and even fight. 

Throughout the whole first half, both teams struggled to make anything happen. However, in the second half, Hall opened up the score off of a penalty.

The penalty call was controversial and caused a lot of noise and disagreement on the field.

Ultimately, Hall was up for the majority of the second half.

In the final minutes of the game, sophomore Hayden Xhokaxhiu scored the winning goal off an assist from senior Drew Monteserin. Xhokaxhiu usually plays defense; however, every time he plays up the field, he makes a significant impact on the game.

Monteserin didn’t score in this game; however, he was able to make an impact in the end with his assist to Xhokaxhiu.

The game ended with The Bobcats tying with Hall in a 1-1 score.

¨I think the team is doing really well offensively. We frustrated the opponent and were moving the ball well. Against Hall, we did a great job of bouncing back from a goal down and I think we had a lot of intensity and spirit when playing,¨ said senior goalkeeper Eli Chaimovich about what the Bobcats had done well.

Chaimovich also mentioned some factors in the game where he thought the Bobcats didn’t perform as well. ¨We could have done better however, with our composure at times. We knew that the referees were calling every bit of contact and we needed to do a better job of recognizing that and adapting rather than arguing about it and feeling sorry for ourselves.¨

The Bobcats continue to compete in every game. Up next the Bobcats face Bristol Central on Thursday, 10/5 on Bristol’s turf.

Bristol Central is coming off a 4-3 win over Glastonbury, which made them 13th in the league with a record of 4-3.

Standing at the edge of the sea of painted lines and green grass, the girls of the SWHS soccer team prepared for an intense game on a professional field for their senior night.

Before the game had started, each senior was announced and walked out onto the field escorted by a family member or someone special in their lives, where they were cheered on by the eagerly-awaiting crowd.  This was a night of anticipation for seniors and for some, a long awaited moment in the spotlight. 

Playing at Trinity Health Stadium (formerly Dillon Stadium) is something special to the players as it makes them feel like it’s their night, and an honorable and important occasion to not just them, but to the whole of the student body of South Windsor High School.

“I am looking forward to being able to play at Dillon Stadium for the second year for my senior night,” Testa said before the game. 

As the girls were honored at Trinity Health Stadium, the bond that has grown over the course of this season on the team was evident. It was further highlighted on the field with celebration when sophomore Mia Ruiz scored two incredible goals, winning the game.

Victory was theirs as the girls won a decisive 2-1 against Enfield High School under the lights. This comes after last year’s win against Tolland on senior night. Winning two years in a row has brought confidence back to the team and, with a look back through this season, fans can see that confidence building. 

“This year has been exciting as our record is showing all our hard work we have put into the season. This has helped us bond as a team and grow, not just on the field but off as well,” said Testa. 

If it seems like girls soccer has gotten a lot of attention this year, it is because of their incredible record. This year, the team has banked eleven wins and with a season record at an astonishing 11-1-1.

Playing with not as teammates but as friends has brought the team together and also made working together that much smoother and more enjoyable. 

The ten seniors on the team have been an integral part of the leadership and bringing the team together this soccer season. 

“Being a senior has affected me because I am a leader to the younger girls on the team…I’ve loved seeing what we’ve accomplished so far,” said senior Sage Gray. 

As their season winds down, there remain only three games left before states, so let’s cheer on our lady Bobcats as they finish off this season strong with an incredible record, successful season, and close bonds. 

South Windsor High School soccer season is officially over. After a long, tournament-filled week the boys played their final game on Tuesday, November 7th, taking a heartbreaking loss to Brien McMahon High School. While the girls also had their last game in the second round of the state tournament taking a loss against Fairfield Ludlowe. 

During the weeks prior to their final game, the Boys played 300 minutes of soccer in five school days. The boys put up a strong fight, with all of their games in the CCC tournament going into overtime and even penalties. 

One of the biggest games in their tournament, and arguably the season, was against Glastonbury High School in the tournament finals. The game went into overtime with a score of 2-2, followed by penalties to make both team’s chances come down to luck and a bit of skill. Unfortunately, things didn’t go according to plan, and the boys took a heartbreaking loss with a score of 2-3 in penalties. 

Despite the loss, the boys kept a positive mindset and congratulated their opponents. This is the first time the South Windsor soccer boys have made it to the CCC finals, showing the potential for future victories through the development of skilled young players. 

South Windsor is becoming a soccer-rich town, and the years to come will be bright. ¨Our expectations were low, but we proved ourselves as the season went on. Next year should be a big year for us as a lot of our young player talent will be at their prime.¨ Senior varsity goalie Eli Chaimovitch told The Prowl.

Overall, the team had an excellent season and finished off strong with a record of 8-6-4. They surpassed their own expectations for the season, even after losing 8 starters who were crucial in last year’s success, while simultaneously setting themselves up for a triumphant next season. 

¨Our team played with a lot of heart knowing that we had big shoes to fill after last season, and for us to make it to the CCC finals was a great way to follow it up. The future of this team is very bright as our team chemistry is coming together well,¨ Commented junior winger Tyler Romero. 

Additionally, the Lady Bobcats had a phenomenal season, with a 13-4-1 record, and a league record of 5-2. 

“This season was one of our best, we beat our top rivalries and finished the season with making it to round 2 of states,” sophomore varsity midfielder Sam Roux told The Prowl.

One of the two biggest games of the season was against Tolland at the beginning of the season, and Enfield at the girls’ Senior Night game. Tolland has been a tough rival for the Bobcats for a few seasons now, but last year at the 2022 season’s Senior Night game, the Eagles lost 0-2 to the Lady Bobcats, and this year they lost 0-1 against them, giving the girls confidence at the start of the season for a successful 2023 soccer year. 

The Enfield game at Dillon Stadium was an intense game to watch, and entertaining, to say the least. The first goal of the night was scored by Bobcat Mia Ruiz, a sophomore at South Windsor High School. Following, the Enfield Eagles team scored, tying the score 1-1 by halftime. In the second half, the Lady Bobcats scored again and finished the game with a 2-1 win. This win gave them a second win in a row at their Senior Night, and next season the ladies hope to get a third win giving them a 3-0 Senior Night record at Dillon Stadium. 

The 2023 season’s success set them up for continuing into states, which in previous years had not been achieved. The girls won their first round of the state tournament at home against Newington, with a 2-0 win. The second round of states was unfortunately lost against Fairfield Ludlowe, with a 0-1 loss. 

The Girl’s Soccer Season ended on a high note, with a glowing record and confident players, who overtime have become like a family on the field. 

The girls and boys had successful seasons, and are looking forward to what the 2024 season will hold for both teams.