On Tuesday, August 27, the St. Peter’s Spartan soccer team will face off with the Mansfield Christian Flames, a match heavily anticipated by St. Pete’s Austin Smith.
Smith stated that he has the day of the match marked on his calendar. “Mansfield Christian is our biggest competitor, not just with soccer, but with all of the sports, and so it should be a good game.” He mentioned that St. Peter’s students flock to the matches against Mansfield Christian and make signs in support of their school.
The senior has been a part of the St. Peter’s soccer team all four years of high school.
He stated that he has enjoyed forming friendships with his teammates, whom he’s played with during his whole high school career. “It was fun going to the Strongsville Adidas Showcase,” he added. “There was crazy talent there and our team had a good time.”
Smith enjoys the challenging nature of soccer with all of the speed work, agility, and coordination involved, and claimed, “I definitely think it’s the toughest sport.”
For the Spartans, they will face not only the strenuous challenges of the sport itself, but also difficulties in team size.
Coach Art Varga stated, “Our numbers are down for whatever reason, but we’ll make do with what we have.” In total, there are 15 players, five of which are returning starters.
“The season is going to be tough, mainly because of a lack of experience, but our main goal is to go out there and have fun. As long as they keep the game fun, that’ll be a success for me,” he said.
To balance that in experience, the coach will rely heavily on his 5 returning starters, “And with our five returning starters, they have excellent skill, soccer knowledge, and leadership. They’ve been especially helpful to the underclassmen.”
