At the end of the soccer game versus Twinsburg, goalkeeper Senior Captain Jake Nations was sitting in the goal box. His hands on his head in disbelief, sat in the same position for approximately five minutes until he stood up. As he was up on his two feet, he inhaled deeply followed by an exhale. He backed up away from the goal, and stared at the goal. Where he soon started to run towards the goal. He jumped up and hit the crossbar with his fist. He tended to do this ritual before every game. So this event for him was closing a chapter.
The Revere Men’s Soccer team faced the Howland Tigers in a closely contested District Final on October 26. The match remained tied through regulation, the game went into overtime, where Revere secured a victory to advance to the next round.
The Men’s Soccer team made it all the way to the Regional Finals where they faced the Twinsburg Tigers. In the first round the Revere Boys defeated Mayfield, followed by a win against South. Then they played Howland and won in overtime. The Regional Semis they played Weslake and won 5-2. Lastly at the Regional Finals the Twinsburg Tigers defeated the Minutemen.
Head coach and RHS counselor Nick DePompei led the boys to a 16-4-1 overall season. The boys were in division three this year, and finished a Suburban League Champion for the fourth year in a row. DePompei explained the men’s team playoff run.
“It was exciting but also kind of like an unknown, unfamiliar territory for us to play certain teams. It was also exciting because there was a lot of trying to figure things out during the season, and it started to come together at the right time,” DePompei said.
The Men’s team faced unfamiliar opponents and adapted their strategy along the way. After advancing through five playoff games in October and November, the team reached the Regional Game.
“The first two games are kind of lighter so it was kind of like this is supposed to happen. I think after Howland, just knowing ok, this was a pretty significant team that we played that we won. I think the boys started getting excited about where we were,” DePompei said.
The boys started off winning multiple games. They were confident in their ability to win. Senior Captain AJ Catlett explained a couple of the team’s rituals before games.
“We always mark on the chalkboard the day that the state championship is, but our countdown during playoffs only goes to the next game we have. We do this because that could be our last game, and we have to earn the next one,” He said.
The mens slogan for their team was “We Play For November.” This means that the men aim to play in the month of November, because the state game is scheduled that month. Not only do they write their slogan on their white board in their locker room, they also write plays and strategies they use to defeat teams. The boys strategize in their game play especially in the postseason.
“Every game we go into, we typically have an idea on who they are and how they like to play. We like to use a style of how we need to go about to beat our opponents,” DePompei said.
Assistant coach, Sandor Jakab shared his perspective on the strategies the boys were taught to defeat their opponents.
“I think coach Depompei and Rorabough became more attack minded and that really helped to put pressure on the opponents, especially towards the end of the season and then leading into the playoffs,” Sandor said.
After the beatable games, they started to play higher level teams getting closer to the state championship. For example, after the team defeated Howland in overtime, they played the Westlake Demons. This was an extremely close match.
“Westlake came in with a lot of attitude and our guys kind of met them face on and or head on we attacked them,” Jakab said.
Although Revere fought for the win, they were aware that strong competition was ahead and that they would need to stay focused and prepared for upcoming challenges.
“The end goal has always been the same every game we come out and always remember to remind ourselves that every game is just business,” Catlett said.
Catlett believes every game is important, he explained nothing changes after a win, especially in playoff games.
“It’s just another step for our way to the end goal, to the state championship. We like to remind ourselves that after every win, especially in the playoffs, that doesn’t guarantee that we are going to win the next game. The only thing it guarantees is that we might get two more practices and an opportunity to play in the next game,” He said.
Although the men did not advance as far as they had hoped, they dedicated themselves and worked every day in order to reach their fullest potential. Their effort and commitment allowed them to continue playing into November, a significant achievement that many teams strive for each season.
“I think that during that regional final game against Twinsburg there were times where our teamwork might’ve faded to the background and we looked to solve some problems by ourselves. Some people got mad at others. Overall, I don’t think that too much better could’ve been done for us acting more as a unit,” Catlett said.
The Men’s Soccer Team ended with several notable accomplishments, including being crowned District Champions and Suburban League Champions.
