After five seasons of a below .500 record, the boys varsity soccer team found recent success, winning 7 out of 9 games this season. Riding this confidence, the Hawks hope to use their momentum to make it to the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
Senior and co-captain Branco Gamarra, currently leads in assists and mentioned the team’s chemistry allows him to coach the players more effectively. “This year, I feel great to be a captain… [it is] a lot easier to tell my teammates what to do on and off the field. There is not a lot of fighting and everyone gets along with each other,” he said.
Junior Zbigniew Szczerba added, “We are working more as a team and more as a whole than we have previously. And to add on, we get things done better and we have the record that we have.”
Fellow senior and co-captain Tiarnan Mathers takes pride in the team’s new cohesive outlook. He stated, “This year we are playing more as a team on and off the field, we are working together and we are getting results.”
The two captains exemplified this newfound teamwork as they scored the lone goal in the team’s most recent nail-biting victory against Thomas Edison High School on October 4.
Statistically, the Hawks are doing much better than their previous seasons. Branco is currently in the Top 30 of all of PSAL in assists and leads the boys division of Queens B East in the same category. Branco also scored the third most goals in Queens B East, with 10 goals, while Tiarnan is in second for most goals, with 11. Collectively, the team scored an impressive 22 total goals.
This year, the Hawks appear to be bound for a playoff run. Led by Branco and Tiarnan, the team is bringing real competition to PSAL, proving they are formidable opponents. The Hawks enter this week boasting a 7-1-1 record, good for second place in their respective division, trailing only Jamaica High School. With already more than twice the number of victories and total goals compared to last season, the Hawks are certainly making a statement this year and hope to carry the positive energy into future matches.
