The OHS boys’ soccer team plans to make a comeback this season after last year’s North Half loss. The Chargers start their season Monday against Olive Branch.
“We have been working really hard to have a great season coming off our playoff loss last year,” senior Carson McCready said. “Obviously losing last year in playoffs was tough, but it has helped us to stay focused on getting better each and every day.”
McCready is entering his fourth and final season on the team. During the off season, the Chargers worked hard on staying connected and working together as a team.
“The team has a lot of capable leaders in our upperclassmen, and our underclassmen are very helpful in making sure our varsity team is in good form,” senior Will Nordstrom said.
Nordstrom is also entering his final season as a charger and is taking on a bigger leadership role. The Chargers lost most of their starters after last season, but they aren’t letting that define them.
“I think our biggest challenge will be figuring out how to adjust our play style to suit our current roster,” McCready said. “Since we lost some very key players last year, our main concern this year was how to adjust to that loss.”
Last year the Chargers ended the season at 17-5, with their final loss being in the state semifinals. Junior Noah Najjar has seen the team advance since the end of last season and is taking on a different role this season as manager.
“You just have to have a strong mentality,” Najjar said. “Last year we went out in the semis so there’s probably going to be some hardships there. Other than that, I think we could push through and make it,”
This season the Chargers plan to stay focused and continue to work together as a team. The Chargers will have their first away game at Clinton on Saturday.
“I hope our team grows into becoming a very consistent team,” Nordstrom said. “The new lineup will need to learn how to play with each other. We have great chemistry already before the season started so I’m not worried about that at all.”
As the season progresses, the Chargers’ goal is to grow and become better players to have a successful season.
“Since we’re going into the season now, we’re trying to get better everyday, practicing with way more intensity,” Najjar said. “Hopefully everybody’s just growing better and better.”
The Chargers hope to make it to the playoffs and eventually make it to the state championship this year.
“The goal for us is very clear and it’s to win district and win state,” McCready said. “After last season, we all realized how close we were to winning it all, so we now just all want to win. We’re just going to focus on each game, one by one, and see how far we can go.”
