On October 11, Lewis-Palmer boys’ soccer won against Palmer Ridge 1-0, winning the Monument Derby Cup for the second year in a row. They are now ranked third in their league with a record of 4-2.

The boys started off strong, with Jack Barkocy 12 burying the ball into the left corner of the goal with only 11 minutes into the first half. Minutes later, Ty Davis 11 nearly scored again on the Bears. This set a pattern for the rest of the game, with many of the boys coming close to scoring.

The second half looked similar to the first, with the Rangers almost scoring several more times. Despite a the scoreboard breaking down with 10 minutes left, the boys ended the game as strong as they started it.

Brian Barkey, head coach of the boys’ soccer team, prepared the boys in different ways for the game against the rival Bears. He said that the boys never see a lot of the work done to prepare for the game.

“We do it all in the summer, we either have people watch them play to scout them, or we watch for games on YouTube. We use what means we can to get information on our opponent,” Barkey explained. “Sometimes it’s just in person watching, and then we try to maximize our strengths and minimize our weaknesses and take advantage of our strengths against their weaknesses.”

Barkey also aims to prepare the boys mentally. He relies on the boys’ love of the game to motivate them.

“A player should be motivated because he or she loves the sport, and they want to compete at the highest level that they can and they want to be the best possible athlete that they can. There are times when I need to remind the players about what the meaning of the game is, and what’s at stake, or maybe individual things. Most of the time we meet as a group and we set some objectives for every game. And then there are little individual conversations that I have with each player to help them achieve what they want to achieve,” Barkey said.

Players Aiden McGonagle 11 and Tim Wright 11 both felt confident about the team’s abilities going into the game. They both agreed that they were prepared to face the Bears, having spent the previous two days gearing up for the match.  

“We’re in the right mindset and have the correct attitude for the game,” McGonagle said.

Wright felt sure that the Rangers could win the game. “We have a good chance of winning the game. Our stats don’t match, we’re a lot higher,” Wright said. “We have the better record and they’re 1 and 8.”

After the game, Coach Barkey was happy with the win. However, he thinks the boys can play an even better game in the future.

“We loved the result. It’s positive that way. I think in general the mindset is improving with the group. It wasn’t our best game, so that’s always what we’re in search of. We’re not quite there yet, but it felt good to get the result. I know the boys were happy,” Barkey said.

In order to achieve the players’ best game, Barkey says they can improve in many ways. He aims to better the boys as both players and teammates.

“Every phase of our game has to get better. From everything we do positionally, how we are with the ball, our mindset being stronger, players making sure they do what they’re assigned to do, having players be really good teammates and supportive of each other. Those are the things we try to focus on,” Barkey said.

The Rangers’ league season is over, but they aren’t done playing yet. They expect to compete in their first playoff match on Wednesday, October 24.