The boys soccer team reached their goal of making playoffs this year. After an eventful season where they played teams across the Three Rivers League and Portland Interscholastic League, the Lakers made it to playoffs for a match up against the Lincoln Cardinals. This was a very emotional game where the Lakers were united under their shared vigor and passion. This year, the LOHS  boys soccer team had players from each grade, however the majority were seniors,only adding to the value of what making it to playoffs meant to the group. 

Senior team captain Conor Lyons touched on how much the game meant to him because he went into it “not knowing if this was [his] last game.” While the outcome was not what the boys hoped for, they gave the Cardinals a fight. Lyons also highlighted his team’s ability to give other teams a “challenge” and make their opponents battle to win. Another senior, Peter Dolloff, also mentioned how the team always “fought hard” and that they didn’t walk in giving away the game because as seniors they knew it might have been their “one last game.” 

Even though the majority of the team are seniors, the juniors also played with engagement, excited to be given the opportunity to make it to the playoffs. The playoffs were a new experience for the majority of the team, and stepping into this unfamiliar territory and next level of Oregon state soccer, they couldn’t have been happier to have made it that far. One of the goalies, junior Ben Robertson, remarked on how the game was “a different level of intensity” because it was a playoff game and how he was “proud of how they were tied for a bit of the game” and held their ground. Aside from the game itself, he said he was proud of the team for making the playoffs, and how far the team had come since the beginning of the season. All three athletes emphasized the team chemistry and how connected they were on and off the field, resulting in league success throughout the season.