Boys’ Varsity Soccer team went to state but fell short of the championship. 

According to “Fun Facts about Soccer you may not know” from Grasshopper Soccer, historically, no one knows who created soccer, but the earliest versions of soccer can be traced back 3,000 years. Over time, soccer is play in many places in the world and in other countries is known as “football”. Usually, soccer is played on turf grass. The field is rectangular and must be between 100 to 130 yards long and 50 to 100 yards wide. In addition, soccer games are 90 minutes long, and it’s divided into two 45-minute halves. In a random survey of 100 Morton East students, “Do you think the boys’ varsity soccer team are going to win on Friday and Saturday?” 90% of the students surveyed predicted a state championship for Morton; 10% predicted a loss. Unfortunately, they lost both of their games at the state competition.  

“Our goalkeeper Danny Martinez really came on this season once he took over the starting keeper role. Danny was really big for us in the playoffs. He made some huge saves in the Benet and Naperville North playoffs games. He has worked hard on improving his game the last 2 years,” Coach Bageanis said. 

Another student added other key players. 

“Overall, our team is very strong, but our key players are Giovanni Alvarez and Daniel Diaz. They create amazing plays, have a good connection, and always know where to find each other and build off each other,” student manager Mya Hernandez said. 

The varsity team tied 3 times, won 21 times, and lost 3 times. So, what were the highlights of this past season?   

“Highlights are us winning our 10th conference title in a row. Also, it is obviously getting to state being in the final 4. Another highlight was seeing all of the students supporting the team throughout the playoffs. It’s always great to see the support from all of our fans,” coach Bageanis said. 

Students had so much fun during the game. 

“There were no problems.  Our kids were excited to cheer out our team; they all went there to just cheer our team and only that,” assistant Principal of Student Ms. Joanne Rzadzki said.   

Morton did win in a sense. We sent many more fans to the game on Friday night to Hoffman Estates High School. 

 “(There were) approximately 1,700 attending.  I think in the end we ended up with 48 or 47 buses — yeah, I think 48,” assistant Principal of Student Ms. Joanne Rzadzki said. 

At the end, the team did a good job. 

“Our team played fantastically our team played with their hearts, and we are very proud of them.  At the end we had a difficulty, but what matters is that they give it their all and that’s what’s more important. They played at their best.  We are all very proud of them,” assistant Principal of Student Ms. Joanne Rzadzki said. 

This season was incredible. 

“The best thing to happen this season has been how motivated the team was since the beginning. When the season started, the guys had a mentality of going to state. This helped to get them to where they are now. It all just starts with a strong mentality and hard work. This team worked very hard over the summer to get ready for this season,” student manager Mya Hernandez said.