Semi-Finals success. Senior center back Devin Chene chases after the ball. The team won against Stoney Creek High School 5-0.

Following their 5-0 Semi-Final win, the Varsity soccer team faced off against Rochester Adams in the pouring rain. 

“I was excited [to win Semi-Finals], but at the same time, I knew who we were playing next; so we just had to prepare,” senior defender Kyle Zelasko said.

Adams’ team plays longball–when they have ball possession, players kick toward the opposing goal– but Eisenhower plays possession. Possession requires patience. It’s not until a player finds an opportunity that they pass the ball forward. This strategy, however, is challenging in the rain, coach Mehrdad Nekoogar said.

“We knew we were going to be in trouble from the minute we started the game,” Nekoogar said.

Along with the rain, miscommunications flooded the field. With 10 minutes left, Eisenhower’s goalie called the ball; but the defender, with his back to the goalie, passed it back, scoring on their own goal. This shot ended the game.

“It was just a miscommunication and sometimes that happens,” Nekoogar said.

Despite the ending 0-2 score Eisenhower held possession 65-70 percent of the game. However, they missed nine scoring opportunities. Whereas, Adams scored three times.

“It was just bad luck at the end of the day. You know you have to play to win and we didn’t,” Nekoogar said.

Finals were the end to an otherwise successful season. Prior to their Semi-Final win, the team earned the Macomb Area Conference championship title over Anchor Bay. Nekoogar attributed the win to experience.

“When they [the seniors] have gone through playing Anchor Bay the previous years when they were younger, they now have experience,” Nekoogar said. “And that really was the main reason that we went out there and we should have won both games.”

Looking towards the future, Nekoogar favors a smaller roster. With 12 graduated seniors, the team will be younger and Nekoogar hopes a smaller roster will give the team more experience.

“Hopefully, we can build up again for a year from now or two years from now,” Nekoogar said. “And we can give it a shot again.”