Max Morrisey

The season has ended for the Smith Academy boys’ soccer team after a thrilling loss to Gateway. The team went 14-3-3, tying for the league title of the McGrath South and earning a number one seed in the Western Mass. Tournament. They made it to the tournament semifinals, and took Gateway into double overtime before surrendering an own goal in the 97th minute. The Falcons had not allowed a goal to Gateway in the previous 258 minutes of play, and had allowed only eleven goals all season. The hard fought battle will mark an end to a great year for the team, but making it this far will only make the younger players hungry for more.

Stephanie Slysz was in attendance for the Western Mass. Semifinals game, and wanted to offer her opinions on the game and the season as a whole.  She said, “The boys played a well fought game, unfortunately they came up with a loss. We had a lot of fans there, but the team couldn’t pull it together. Being a senior, it is sad to see them lose and I feel bad that they had to go out this way.” Despite her depressed outlook, Stephanie ended on a positive note.  “They should be proud of their accomplishments this year and how far they went. It’s been a while since they made it that far.” Stephanie’s outlook is shared by many diehard Smith fans who are already looking forward to the promise of next year.

This season marks a return of success for Smith boys’ soccer, after back to back losing seasons. The Falcons went 5-8-4 and 7-8-3 in their 2007 and 2008 seasons respectively. 2008 was an especially painful season as Smith missed tournament by only one point. The Falcons were able to improve greatly during the offseason, and had their most success since winning the Western Mass. Championship in 2003. The team will lose six seniors going into next season, including both defensive starters and the starting goalie. Despite losing a large part of his fierce defense, Coach Duncan remains quite positive about the Falcons’ chances next season. When asked about next season’s squad, Duncan responded, “Along with returning the core of our offense next year, we also return a group of players who have been to the tournament and know how to respond once we’re there.”