On Tuesday October 3, 2017 the Lewis-Palmer varsity boys soccer team took on the Discovery Canyon Thunder. The game ended with an LP victory, with the Rangers defeating the Thunder in overtime with a final score of 2-1.

Boys soccer had a tough season to start with a total of 3 wins and 7 losses. This game, against the Thunder, struck a new sense of confidence for the whole team because the game was a tough one and they still came out of it with a victory. With another win under their belts, the Ranger boys are hoping for another victory.

One student, Justin Dahl 11, is a first year varsity player and he has been happy about his season so far because the team is undefeated in their conference. All of the games they have played have been successful for the team because the amount of games they have lost at their level qualifies them as undefeated and they only need to win two more games to qualify for state. Dahl has mixed emotions about how the game went.

“Although we won the game, I feel as though it should have been a much easier game to play in,” Dahl said. “My team broke down during the second half of the game and even though we never gave up and played hard, I think we should have had better mindsets throughout the whole game.”

According to Dahl, the goal scored by Bryan Emig 12 was one of the highlights of the game because it was the first goal to be scored in the game. He said it gave the team hope and pushed them to keep playing hard so they could beat DCC.

Another student, Brandon Gary 12, is a varsity player and felt as though the team played well together, but could have given more effort towards the end of the game. He was proud of his team for receiving the winning goal of the game in overtime.

“I knew the game was going to be hard to win, but I had a lot of confidence in my team and knew that we could beat them. We definitely moved the ball really well throughout the entire game, but I could feel my team not trying as hard as the end of the game neared, so winning in overtime brought all of our mindsets up and proved that we were good enough to beat them,” Gary said.

Both Dahl and Gary have similar goals for future performance in their games. According to them, they feel that if they improve their field awareness and focus on moving the ball quicker during the game, they will be able to play better and win more of their games.

For future games, the team wants to meet their goals and keep their confidence and hope up in order to defeat other teams. Though the team has a 3-7 record, their confidence can help them finish beating the rest of the teams they play in the future and will go on to qualify for state.