Shayan Bakhtyari and JV Alencar
Sports Reporter
It can easily be said that South’s Boys Varsity Soccer team had a 2020 season that was far from normal. Playing both through COVID-19 and under new Head Coach Floyd Butler, how the team’s future would unfold was unclear. South finished this season with a record of three wins, five losses, and two draws, but are looking ahead with optimism.
The team started the season with an ugly 8 – 1 loss, and Captain Zach Greenberg remembers how it had demoralized the team. “It was a tragic way to start the season. Heads were low, and we didn’t have a lot of team spirit,” he said. He also noted, “we had new coaching staff this year, so we were adjusting to new playstyles and a new 3-5-2 formation that was very unique to South’s playbook.”
However, from that point on, things started to look better for the team.
The Lions went on to take a big win in an outing against their longtime rivals Lincoln-Sudbury. “It was a huge confidence booster,” said Greenberg. “Each week, we were improving and watching each other improve. The captains’ spirit and the coaching staff’s spirit was amazing.”
When the postseason came, the team made it all the way to the DCL Semifinals until they lost to the top-seated Concord-Carlisle Patriots. Greenberg expressed his optimism despite this: “We lost 1 – 0 to the best team in the state, so I see that as a win.”
“We did a really good job of building team chemistry. Last year we had fourteen seniors that were going to graduate, so there were a lot of new guys this year and it was a really new, fun, and relaxing environment to play in.” A senior himself this year, Greenberg made a point of eulogizing his co-captains, Class of 2022’s Harrison Unger and Dariush Nashat, as well as Class of 2023’s Teddy Ginsburg, saying that they were all players to keep an eye on incoming seasons.
After a season with a lot of fresh faces on the team, South’s boys soccer program looks to have a bright future.
