Brien Mcmahon soccer;behind the scenes

Pridetime reporter: Wichie  bienaime
Pridetime editor: Peter Young

Brien McMahon’s Varsity soccer team has had a bumpy road since the day I entered high school. My freshmen year the team didn’t make States and FCIACs with a record of 3-5-6. But as the years have passed, their success hasn't come. This year (my senior year) was no different.

I sat down with several key McMahon players to discuss the downfall season: Senior, key varsity fullback, Duly Bolivar; Senior captain Joshue Balderama; Senior Captain Daniel Izquierdo.

The team and fans were beyond confident before the start season and looked forward to the challenge ahead. “When the season started I was very confident. I knew the players and what they could bring to the team. There was no reason not to be confident,” said Duly Bolivar.

With all this hype around the team, they failed to win a single game struggling against oppositions believed to have had in the bag. “The team struggled in communication on the field, off the field it was great. Coaching decisions lead to a lot of our losses,” Duly added.

For many of the players coaching decisions led to a lot of struggle this season. “I agree to a certain extent, there were certain decisions that I disagreed with but at the same time I take responsibility for that as a captain I should’ve taken a stronger role in terms of making decisions that were best for the team,” said Dany Izquierdo.

The backbone of the team, Joshue Balderama, had an input on the coaching going on, stating “Our coach could have made better decisions, from having 30-minute training sessions to tactics. I think we could've improved a lot but were held back. But I think we are definitely at fault most.”

The chemistry on the field was another issue. “The chemistry was not at 100%,” said Duly. “You got the defense who lacked on some parts, midfield struggled. You got one person that's really good up top, Elias Pardo. But he wasn’t used the right way. The coach didn’t have a very big role on the team.”

Danny Izquierdo went on saying, “As highlighted by the Norwalk High game. We held the lead for roughly 65 minutes, then we got a questionable PK call against us and that changed the whole dynamic of the game. But from that moment we needed to keep our composure and close the game out well. Instead, we put our heads down and everything went downhill from there. That pretty much sums up our season.”

“I'm not proud of the team at all because I know we could've done so much better. Throughout the whole season, I was never over it, at least win one game. I never lost hope on our team.”

When asked what his best memory from the season was his response was “Senior night playing in the rain, people will remember that for years.” Duly responded.

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