By Toby Morollo
Sports Reporter
The Newton South boys’ soccer team earned themselves a playoff spot after a 1-1 tie against North to get the point they needed to secure a spot in the state tournament, the first time since 2010. With an upcoming game on Saturday against Braintree they look to continue their success from the regular season in the first round.
Braintree sports a strong record of 14-3-3, making them a threat statewide heading into the playoffs.
Senior captain Peter Stephens acknowledged that the team has specialized its training sessions to prepare for this big game.
“We’ve been preparing for them. We’ve been defending their strengths, which [are] set pieces, so we have worked on those,” Stephens said.
With success coming from every aspect of the team, the boys look to train even harder in preparation for the upcoming tournament along preparing mentally for the big game.
“We are getting ready as a team by preparing for a long, mentally tough game,” Stephens said.
After a 6 year drought of no tournament appearances for the program, this has been a great season for the boys, and heading into the playoffs they hope to make it even better.
Braintree has a solid backline creative midfield and clinical attack, making them a huge threat for the lions defense. However, the Lions have been decisively prepping for the challenge ahead with optimism.
“Overall we just want to win as many games [in the tournament] as possible,” Stephens said. “Whether it be 1 or 6, we’ll be happy either way.”
