We are well underway for the 2016-17 school year, and everybody enjoys a great underdog story! A very intriguing story is the Quaker Men’s Soccer team. Last year, the Quakers fought to make up for an unimpressive 2014 season, going 2-13. This year, the team will look to improve on the 7-6-2 2015 record and hopefully make a strong playoff push.

The Quakers graduated eight seniors last year, and five were starting players. However, they have made up for it in this year’s rising freshman class. The team welcomed a whopping 17 freshmen to the team this year. Out of the 17, five are varsity players. The freshman help out on and off the field. Joseph Mullen ’19 and Timothy Farley Jr. ’19 gave their honest opinion of the freshman on the team, “They’re good kids,” Farley said. “The freshman in my platoon just always seem to get it done”. Mullen, a member of the football team, added, “I don’t know Oryem Kilama, but apparently he’s incredible. I hear Jacob Jaworski is pretty good, and he’s also the kicker for the football team. I really respect how he splits his time to cover both of his duties”. The freshman look to help the team win a conference championship this year; the first since 1973.

The team also officially welcomed Liam O’Donnell to the coaching staff this year. O’Donnell, a former middle school coach, has been coaching at friends since 2013. He came in as the head coach of the middle school, but also helped out with the high school Men’s team. O’Donnell has played professional soccer, and is currently representing Ireland in the Amateur World Cup. He is a big asset in practice, helps out with many logisticals in games, like focusing on corner kicks and offensive attack, and overall is an amazing addition to the team.

On the topic of additions to the team, we also have a couple new players. As a new student to a school (or country for that matter), sometimes making friends can be a challenge. Roc Terricabres Esperalba 18’ certainly hasn’t had much trouble with that! Terricabres has had a very easy time fitting in as a Quaker. As an AFS student from Barcelona, Terricabres has made a very smooth transition to the team and the student body at Friends. He will be staying with Samuel Huo, also a junior, for the entire year. Terricabres wears #40 with pride and holds an amazing attitude, on and off the field. When asked about Terricabres, Louisa Spinner ’18 commented, “Roc has been such an awesome addition to WFS this year! From the first day of school you could tell he was going to fit right in with the community. He’s made such a great effort to get to know everyone at Friends, through connecting with people on social media and talking to ranges of people in school. Roc’s passion for WFS is shown as he cheers on varsity soccer, after playing a full JV match! His humor and friendliness add such a great energy to the school, and I’m so happy he chose to come to WFS!”

This year, the team is lead by Captains Chris Lee ’17, Danny Manley ’18, and Max Pickles ’18. This is the first time in a number of years that there have been junior captains, but that doesn’t stop Pickles and Manley from leading the team with confidence. For a team with a large roster of 45 players, it is very challenging for all three captains to lead as well as they have been. Lawson Chou ’18, a player for the Quaker Soccer team, commented on the leadership displayed on the team, “Because of the new leadership on the team, Friends soccer might have one of the best seasons in years. The addition of two junior captains, Pickles and Manley, is definitely a change for the better. With Chris, Max, and Danny, the team seems a lot closer and we are definitely going to the playoffs this year because of them. Their leadership not only on the field, but in and out of school have left every team member excited to show up and play soccer everyday.”

The team chemistry shown so far in this Quaker Soccer team is very strong. It seems like this could be a very promising year for the rather young team. The Quakers are looking forward to having their best season in years.