Middlesex Soccer

The Journey to the post-season

Photo by Stacey McCarthy

The fall season is underway, and the Boys Varsity Soccer team is out of the gates strong with an impressive 8-1-2 record, just over halfway into the season.

The boys’ team is fired up and feels confident going into some big matchups in the next coming week. Captain and herd leader Baze Kalisa recognizes Rivers and St. George’s as important future matchups, where the team needs to make sure they are dialed in. In the past 14 years, the boys have had a very even competition with Rivers, having a record of 6-6-2 against them. Last year, the boys unfortunately lost 4-3 in a high scoring thriller, so this year the boys are more than ready to bring the heat and get a win in this huge Class B matchup. After playing St. George’s twice last year and walking away with a tie in season and loss in the NEPSAC Class B tournament, the boys’ team is ready to get their revenge on Senior day, marking a massive win for the team and the seniors. 

Baze points out how valuable their practices are to their success in these big games, saying the team just needs to “take it one game at a time” and focus on “intense practices to translate into games.” Baze addresses the need for each member of the team to not just do their own job, but do “the task needed in the moment,” creating an interconnected team that steps up for each other in times of conflict, where team members take accountability on the pitch. Also, Junior goalie Noah Browne touches on the importance of the team staying united and “true to [their] roots” to foster future success. 

In practice, the boys focus on possession and keeping the ball moving on the ground, trying to avoid long balls in the air to then maintain control in games. The boys are able to generate more opportunities this way and create havoc in the final third as seen by Senior Bryan Mayhew’s 6 goals and 2 assists and Sophomore Adriano Valmora’s 12 goals and 7 assists in only 7 games, placing him at the top of the ISL Boy’s Soccer standings thus far into the season. However, a team is nothing without a strong defense and the boys have proved their dominance on defense as well with sophomore center backs Luis Lugo Canales and Will McCarthy, and freshman outside back starter Chris De Morais holding down the fort and limiting opposing offenses from getting in on their defense.

Overall, the boys are excited with how the season has gone and can’t wait to make some noise in the playoffs. Coach Risley tries hard to not just create a strong, interconnected team to win games, but foster a family and, as Baze says, “a team that sees each other as a family, that sacrifices for each other, competes for each other, and is happy for each other, succeeds, and successes are keys to success.” The boys certainly seem to see each other as family now and hopefully they continue to.

Stella Mourtzinos ‘26