Vikings look to make a statement
Sam Kobylar
Staff Writer
It is not very often that both the men’s and women’s Hudson Valley soccer teams, have been successful in the same year. In fact, there was only one year since 2007 where both the men’s and women’s teams finished the season with a winning record. That season came back in 2013 when the men’s team finished with a record of 9-4-1 while the women’s team finished 7-6 that year.
That has been a different story so far during the first half of the season for both teams. Each team has played at least eight games and each team has a very good record. The men’s team has played nine games so far and have an overall record of 7-1-1 with 7 regular season games remaining and are ranked #10 in the country in the NJCAA Division III.
“It feels really good. Going into the season it was looking a little rough but as it progressed we started to look really well and we are doing really well,” said Men’s Soccer Goalie Joshua Rasmussen on the solid start.
“It feels great getting into the rankings there so we are #10 in the country so it feels really good.” said Men’s Soccer Coach Travis Cooke.
While the Men’s Soccer team has played great out on the field, they also have had great team chemistry so far this season, both on and off the field.
“In the beginning it was kind of rough but … we have built on that and we have a lot of combination plays now so I feel like our chemistry is up top,” said Men’s Soccer Midfielder Juan Mejicano on the teammate chemistry.
“This is the team I have had the best chemistry with. There is no cliques, no nothing, we are really close. We all have bonding and we are really close,” said Goalie Joshua Rasmussen.
Men’s Soccer Coach Travis Cooke is entering his 10th season as the head coach for Hudson Valley and believes that this is one of the best teams he has ever coached. When asked about how this year’s team looks compared to past teams, Cookie said “It’s towards the top for sure. We were #2 in the country a couple years back but I think these guys still have a lot to go. I think we can really make a playoff push this year.”
The Hudson Valley Men’s Soccer team hasn’t won a region III championship since 1963 and they truly believe that they can get back there this year.
“That would be fantastic, that would look great for all of us. It would look good for Travis [Cooke] and Jarrett [Farrell] and I know a lot of us really want it,” said Goalie Joshua Rasmussen on potentially winning a regional championship.
“It would be a crazy moment just because I really haven’t won anything that big and that would just be an awesome moment,” said Midfielder Juan Mejicano on potentially winning a regional championship.
While the Men’s team is looking to get a regional championship, the Women’s team is looking to do the same thing this year as they are seeking to win their first championship since 1992. The Women are also getting off to a hot start this year as they have an overall record of 5-2-1 throughout their first eight games with seven games remaining in their regular season schedule.
“It feels great, it is a big momentum builder and it is carrying us into one of the toughest parts of the schedule,” said Women’s Soccer Coach Jay Pokines on the 5-2-1 start to the season.
“It feels good. I think we worked hard all preseason and over the summer so it is paying off,” said leading scorer Elisabeth Morehouse on the solid start to the season.
“I’ve never met a team more dedicated to win and practice hard and go out there and do what they can and get rewarded with the win, so it’s a good thing,” said Goalie Teller Wood.
Like the men’s soccer team, this year’s women’s soccer team has also had some great team chemistry which has helped them win games.
“I don’t think there is anyone on the team that anyone actually dislikes. We are all really good together,” said Morehouse on the teammate chemistry.
“I think we have a very good chemistry, we are really close outside of soccer so that really helps on the field, just being friends even off the field,” said second year midfielder Renee Casey on the teammate chemistry.
Even though the women’s team finished with a solid record of 11-4-1 last season, they believe that they can do even better than they did last season and have an even better team this year than last year. When asked about how this year’s team looks compared to last year’s team, Head Coach Jay Pokines believes they have something this year that they didn’t have last year.
Pokines said, “Two big scorers up front and strong center halves that we have never really had. We have had strong center halves but we never had the combination of both. Actually, every asset that we have had has been strong [including] defense and goalies. We have always missed one link. We have had three out of the four but we have never had all four and that is what we have this year.”
Sophomore midfielder Renee Casey also likes what she has seen out of this year’s team compared to last year’s team. Casey said, “This year’s team is a lot closer than last year’s team and I think that really helps us and we are all very motivated coming in right from the beginning. Right from day one we knew our potential and that we can go all the way.”
Both men’s and women’s soccer both look to have strong second halves and finish the season on a positive note. The next game for each team is on Monday Sep. 28th, as both against Springfield Tech. The Women’s team will be at home for their game at 3 p.m. while the Men’s team will go on the road to play Springfield Tech at 5 pm. While the women’s team next home game will be on Monday, the men’s team next home game will be on Wednesday Sep. 30 against Herkimer at 4 p.m.