With competitive cuts to the team and intense practices and workouts that started several weeks before the official season began, the prospective season for the Eleanor Roosevelt High School Boys’ Varsity soccer team is looking optimistic, according to several players on the team.

“The team looks extremely promising this year,” said head coach Mr. George Kallas. “We have a young team compared to past years, but the team also has a tremendous amount of potential.” Luke Hanno, a freshman and center defensive midfielder for the team also confidently stated, “We have a strong team, I feel pretty good.”

After kicking off the season with two scrimmages, the Raiders played their first official game against Parkdale on September 8, 2015 tying up the score for the close game and ending with a score of  3-3 as a result of a successful penalty kick by Lovet Cheg, a junior and midfielder for the Raiders. “The game was certainly close, they’re a good team, but we’re hoping to be better,” stated senior midfielder Zach Landau.

The team certainly has a packed schedule of competitive games this season that they will have to win in order to move closer towards playing at the state level. Bowie High School, long-time rivals of the Roosevelt Raiders, is seen as one of the most competitive teams the Raiders will have to face throughout the county level games according to Alex Pagán, a sophomore center back and defensive midfielder.

“They’re our school rivals and it’s always nice to beat rivals,” Pagán said in reference to the Bowie High soccer team. Coach Kallas thought otherwise, saying that Chesapeake High School is one of their biggest competitors.

The team has also undergone extensive cuts this year in order to produce the highest quality team possible. According to Pagán, “When there’s more quality on the team, it…compels everyone to work harder” and “Coach Kallas can rely on subs to produce the same effort and skill which really benefits our team.”

As the only freshman on the team, Hanno admitted how challenging it proved to be to make the cut for the team. “Freshman and even sophomores are usually not as highly considered to be on varsity. It was competitive, but once I was able to figure out what I needed to do to make the team, it became much easier.” With such a quality team, the Raiders are hoping to exceed the progress they were able to make last season.

Last fall, the Raider soccer season was put to an end when they lost in the regional finals. “It was definitely disappointing, but we plan to work harder and work together to make sure that doesn’t happen this year,” stated Landau.

“We didn’t go as far as we would’ve liked to last season, but it was a learning experience for everyone and we hope to improve on our mistakes from last year. I believe if we put in the effort and work, the team could make it to the state level. It’ll be hard, but won’t be an impossible journey” said Pagán.

The team continues to meet the demanding standards of the team and practices every day after school from 4-6:30 PM. Under Coach Kallas’s rigorous conditioning, the players hope to become a better team and hope to bring a victory home for the Eleanor Roosevelt Raiders.