When the season began, there was a sense of energy, emotion, and urgency that is usually common in a typical Boys Soccer team. But when the Rebels learned that they would be without seniors Maurice Young (ACL) and Captain Bobby Ivatts (suspension), it seemed all that excitement turned into discouragement. When Ivatts appealed his suspension, the mood lightened up a bit. The team played with their leader and opened up the season with a dominating 1-0 win over Newton North. But as Ivatts started his suspension against Brookline, they quality of play dipped.
The Rebels dominated play, and time of possesion was a key factor in their 1-0 win over Newton North. Ivatts gave a beautiful through ball to senior A.J. Chauvin, who was able to put the Rebels up before half. The score would remain the same for the rest of the game and the spirits remained high. “It was a good start to the season and we need to continue it” said captain Matt Brownsword.
The Rebels traveled to Brookline on Tuesday, September 10th, and played without Ivatts who had started his five game suspension. The energy and emotion the team had had was gone. For the first 30 minutes of the game, every player seemed dull and lifeless. The only thing that could be heard was the ball hitting the back of the Walpole net and the cheers from the Brookline fan section. At half, the Rebels found themselves in a 3-0 hole, looking for answers. “We came out flat and we did not talk and communicate with each other” said sophmore Ian Fair.
However, the second half had its ups and downs. The down was senior star forward A.J. Chauvin broke his wrist a couple minutes in to the frame. “That’s another player we could not afford to lose. He is the most skilled player on the team” said senior Jack Stedman. The good that came out of it was that the Rebels seemed to rally around the injury and carry that frustration into their play. Sophmore Chris Gallivan scored a tap-in goal after a restart with twenty minutes left and would make a come back look more realistic, but the Rebels had already dug their hole too deep, losing 3-1.
Boys soccer’s next game is at Needham on September 12th. The team will be looking towards it’s eight seniors who are still healthy enough to play to help regain the energy needed to play one of the best teams in the state.
