DCVI junior boys soccer team wins season opening game

By Spencer Seymour

The St. Marys DCVI Junior Boys Soccer team picked up a 3-0 victory in their first game of the regular season May 7 against Listowel District Secondary School (LDSS).

Head coach Jordan Kustec credited the group for strong two-way play at both ends of the pitch.

“Our offence was really solid,” said Kustec. “They have pretty good communication. These guys are friends on this team, and they are always talking outside of the game and theory-crafting on how they’re going to be playing. Our offence has really good synergy, and our defence wasn’t lacking as well. If they got in our zone, it was constant pressure from us to get it out.”

Kustec further explained how the team’s offensive prowess comes from a collegial approach by the players.

“The coaches had some comments about, ‘Okay, this is what we can do differently,’ at halftime. Roger (Sebben) is 19 years old and is helping me coach, and he is great during practice. He even plays during scrimmages to even out the teams. And the captain, Ahmed (Aijan Al Hadid), had a discussion with the entire team about what they wanted to do in the second half. Ahmed is the brains of the offensive side of the field.”

Ryder Forrestall opened the scoring for the Salukis before adding a second goal later in the game, despite, according to Kustec, intense pressure from the LDSS defence.

“Ryder (Forrestall) scored the first goal, and he’s a really exceptional player, and to Listowel’s credit, they covered him the rest of the game,” Kustec said. “They always had someone on him. Ryder actually scored another one later with a nice assist by Ahmed (Aijan Al Hadid).”

Brayden Wheeler also chipped in a goal for DCVI en route to their 3-0 win.

Along with a solid showing by the team’s offensive attackers, Kustec also praised the play of their entire defensive unit.

“Our defence is really good. They’re very athletic. They’re great about thinking where the ball is supposed to go. They’re very smart. They’re well coordinated. They know when to clear it and when to pass back to another player.

“The players on defence just don’t give up,” Kustec continued. “If something goes past them, they’re not going to get frustrated by that, and that was something that everybody on the team was working through throughout the game. If something doesn’t go your way, you just have to keep going and you don’t give up.”

Kustec highlighted several individuals who help make up the Salukis’ strong defensive corps.

“Defensively, we have two kids who are international students that are just at DCVI, Eduardo (Chamorro Rodrigues) and Pablo (Vazquez Arias), and they’re both really solid on defence,” Kustec told the Independent. “The players on the team call one of them ‘The Wall’ because nothing gets past them.

“Jack (Brockman/Wilkinson) is one of our defensive players, and every pass that he makes to the midfielders just makes a lot of sense. He’s a very cerebral player. He was actually a little bit sick before the game started. And I kept asking him, ‘Are you good to play?’ And he just kept saying, ‘Yes, I got this.’ And he went out and did a really great job.”

With the game being just the beginning of the regular season, Kustec said the team is starting from a great place in terms of their ability and their structure.

“In practice, we’ve been working on our passes and also just taking as few touches as possible, and keeping our touches close to ourselves, because if you don’t do that, it gives the other team a huge chance to swoop in and steal the ball. We also focused a lot in these last few practices on our shooting and having drills where two offensive players would be faced with two defensive players, and they’d have to pass to each other and then take a shot.

“And that kind of coordination and communication between our players really showed on the field. There are definitely improvements we can make, but I was really happy with what I saw.”