MATCH PHOTOS: http://bit.ly/2N16saK
Last Thursday night had a positive air to it as the Black Knights soccer team continued its winning ways with a solid 10-0 thumping of the St. John Heralds of Ashtabula. The Black Knights volleyball team also continued its early unbeaten streak with a 3-1 defeat of the Bristol Panthers.
For the soccer team, they had no idea they were taking part in a historical event for the visiting Herald team.
It was the first game in school history for the team, and the fact that they have no upperclassmen on the roster was pretty evident as Newbury raced to a 6-0 halftime edge and spent most of the second half working on drills to improve their game for the future.
Paced by the efforts of senior forward Julian Surckla, along with his teammates, the outcome was never in doubt.
“One thing we have to keep tight track of is how we manage injuries, which are bound to happen from time to time,” Newbury coach Andy Piczer said. “We don’t have a lot of kids on the team, so covering injuries, which will happen all the time considering the level of competition we play against, is very important. We have to play aggressively but also use our heads.
“All of the kids are held to a higher standard because that is how the hard work they’ve put into learning the game helps them to improve. We’ve got some very good players, but at times they sort of slow down a bit. It’s still a learning process, of needing to understand their potential in the game a bit more.”
As usual, especially against a team with no upperclassmen playing its first game in school history, expectations were not high for the Heralds. They did many things well in the game, but Newbury’s experience easily won out.
Evan Arnold added a goal and two assists while controlling the ball at midfield both offensively and defensively, sophomore Max Reardon had a goal and an assist, and Hannah Grubbs chipped in with an assist.
The score of the game might have been much worse had the Black Knights not had several shots hit the crossbar or corner posts.
Now a senior, Grubbs, one of the best athletes in the county, is happy with how things are progressing for herself and the team.
“We’re having a lot of fun right now,” she said. “We’ve got a good team, we have high expectations of ourselves, and all the hard work over the years has paid off well for us.”
Coach Piczer also appreciates where his team is.
“Things are going well for us now,” he said. “We expect a lot, and the kids work hard to produce the results we’re getting.
“It’s also great for St. John to have a program going, and they will get better as they go along. We’re both such small schools, it’s hard to maintain programs, yet alone get them up and running.”