The Paly boys soccer team had a major bounce back from the previous seasons. Coming off of a season with less than a double digit goal total, the boys were determined to have a winning season.

They performed surprisingly well with a record of 9-5-5 (WLT), with notable performances from their senior class. The dominant season put Paly on the map, which the team hopes to continue this season. While many of Palys starting 11 will need to be replenished going into the 2022-23 season, the team is incredibly hopeful on their season ahead. 

“I’m optimistic about the season,” Senior Rhys Foote said. “We have a lot of returning players, so it should be a good year.” 

In preparation for the long season ahead of them, the team emphasized conditioning during the preseason. 

“Something I really wanted to instill is our team’s fitness,” Senior Captain Jonas Pao said. “Last season we realized how important it is to get fitness up in the preseason so people don’t get injured going into our rigorous season.” 

They hope to get a competitive edge on their opponents who they believe would not work as hard. Fitness is a key aspect to soccer, as playing up to 90 minutes of an intense continuous match can be incredibly physically enduring.

“We also do this to get ahead of other people in the hopes of doing more than what other people are doing,” Pao said. “Fitness is one of the things that we want to change this season.” 

The boys’ season ended with a first round exit in the division 1 CCS division playoffs. 

“Last season we made it to CCS, but we’re unfortunately knocked out in the first round, so hopefully this year we can go even further,” Foote said.

Their main goal this season is to qualify for CCS and are confident they can make it past the first rounds and take home the section title.

“We have a really strong squad this year, so hopefully we can win the league and get pretty far in CCS,” Pao said.

With high hopes and a strong squad to back it up, the boys soccer team is sure they will have a great season, continuing their rebuild from the previous years.

“Our captains and coach have set some very high goals for this season, so I’m really excited to see how we do and attack them as the season goes on,” Senior Isaac Kirby said.