By Jordan Jones, Editor

Every time the ball hit Marengo’s net on Aug. 25, it was because an underclassmen scored.

Freshmen Tyler Siebert and Anthony Parillo and sophomores Chad Swieca and Alex Gil all contributed to the 4-0 Knights victory.

Senior and varsity soccer captain Trevor Wolf said he is optimistic about how this season will end, though there are many challenges the team will face, including the new conference and the youth of the team.

“I think winning the conference is a goal for all of us.  The higher

the goal, the bigger the reward.  It can be done with hard work and fighting, until all the hope seems lost,” Wolf said.

Key returning players this year include starters seniors Derek White, Wolf and J.P. Minogue; juniors Pedro Perez, Jordan Escobedo and Anders Winquist-Bailey; and sophomores Alex Gil and Chad Swieca.

This year’s team is half underclassmen, with 10 of the 20 team members being freshmen and sophomores. Varsity Coach Scott Parillo said the underclassmen bring a lot to the table.

“The underclassmen bring a lot of talent, but the downside is that they are young and still make mistakes. They really help the program,” he said.

Wolf also had praise for varsity soccer’s new faces.

“Freshmen and sophomores have a lot to offer.  They don’t just work hard, but when they’re given the chance, they go all out and take advantage of the time they are given.  They put it to good use, and it showed in our first game against Marengo,” Wolf said.

The squad is lead by captains White and Wolf. Scott Parillo has high hopes for the Knights’ performance in the new conference, which he said “gives every team a chance to compete for the conference title.”

“This is one of the most talented teams I’ve ever had,” he said.

As of press dead, the Knights are 3-3 with the Yorkville Foxes coming up tonight.

With the Foxes next up on the Knights’ schedule, leading goal scorer White and the team will have to gel together in order to overcome Yorkville.  Also, the youth needs to overcome the challenges of being young, Parillo added.

“The youth has affected us pretty well.  We have a lot of good freshmen, including Siebert and [Anthony] Parillo,” Weiss said.