On Friday, February 11th, Enloe students and parents showed out at The Nest to watch each class of Enloe soccer players pitted against each other in a bracket-style tournament. 

While the bleachers were packed with orange, blue, red, and green, the colors of each team, Enloe’s unity was high. At one point, a group of students could be heard cheering on a player who was about to score a goal, and then applauding the opposing goalie who blocked the shot. While everyone was rooting for their own grade, everyone was cheering for Enloe.

Game 1: Freshmen Vs. Sophomores

The tournament began with a fiery start as the freshmen and sophomores faced off in the first twenty-minute game of the day. While each team fought hard, the freshmen were able to secure the win with two goals. Meanwhile, their goalie, Carter Shedd, blocked two close-calls from the sophomores. 

Game 2: Juniors Vs. Seniors

The juniors and seniors duked it out next in one of the most highly-anticipated and closest games of the day. The juniors started off strong with Greene Rand scoring an early goal, followed by another goal soon after thanks to the teamwork of Sophie Liu and Avery Kimball. As the clock ran down, play on both sides became more aggressive, ultimately resulting in a yellow card against Rand. With nine minutes left on the clock, the seniors scored their first goal, with Philemon Emmanuel weaving through the juniors’ defenses and scoring in a flash, followed by a well-deserved celebratory “griddy” dance. 

With three minutes left on the clock, senior Glenna Ruslander rushed past junior defenses and scored the seniors’ second goal, putting the teams on even terms. The clock eventually ran out, resulting in a tiebreaker won by the juniors, placing them against the freshmen in the third game.

Game 3: Freshmen Vs. Juniors

The third game proved to be the tensest game of the day, with both teams not being able to secure a single goal throughout their entire twenty minutes on the field. If anything, this match proved the power of goalies Olivia Ferlito and Carter Shedd, who blocked many close-calls throughout the game. Like the last game, this round ended with both teams choosing a kicker to decide the match point, with juniors just barely taking the victory over the freshmen.

Game 4: Sophomores Vs. Seniors

The fourth game pitted the seniors against the sophomores to decide who would qualify for third place in the next game. The seniors played a strong defense with Ladi Folarin holding down the fort as goalie and intercepting a few good kicks. Senior Matthew Ramsey shined throughout this game, intercepting the ball and scoring a goal from a great distance before the sophomores could even catch up with him. This game resulted in a crushing 4-0 score with seniors winning with an upper hand in the next round, in which they would face off against the sophomores again.

Game 5: Third Place Match (Sophomores Vs. Seniors)

It is clear that in the fourth round, the sophomores learned from their mistakes and came back stronger in the round for third place. The sophomores upped their defenses, with goalie Lexi Petersen making some excellent saves, as well as players on the field keeping the seniors away from the goal. This game was extremely tense, the first goal scored by Owen Henderlite with only six minutes left on the clock due to his impressive footwork. The seniors scored another goal less than a minute later, and their final goal was made with an impressive header from a corner kick in the last 43 seconds of the game by Ladi Folarin, securing the seniors at third place and the sophomores as fourth in this tournament.

Game 6: Championship Match (Freshmen Vs. Juniors)

Everything that had happened previously in this tournament all depended on this final match between the freshmen and juniors. Both teams played very defensively during the match, putting goalies Olivia Ferlito and Carter Shedd to work again. Ferlito made some very crucial saves, allowing the juniors to be untouchable the entire game. With a strong defense, the juniors’ forwards were able to play aggressively and score their first goal with ten minutes left on the clock, and their second one in the final two minutes of the game. This victory solidified the juniors as the champions of the tournament, proving that a strong defense is truly the best offense.

While the juniors may have claimed victory, camaraderie and sportsmanship won the day, with each team cheering on the others from the crowd, celebrating each other’s victory.