What a great day to be an SPF Raider: you get to enjoy your first day of school and then get to watch the boys soccer team show out, winning big against Union on Thursday, Sept. 9. 

While the Raiders were sloppy in the first half on both sides of the ball, SPF seemed to pick up the pace with senior Ethan Koseoglu leading the charge in the second half. 

“I think the first half was sloppy and we didn’t come out with composure and I think we were forcing things,” Coach Alex Passucci said. “I thought in the second half we did a better job of connecting on our passes which we didn’t do a good job in the first half.”

Passucci continued to praise his starting forward and his teammates by pointing out the strengths that they showed throughout the game. 

“I think Ethan did a good job of holding the ball for us in the second half, and then waiting for us to get into the attacking third,” Passucci said. “He connected on his passes more in the second half, so I think that helped us a lot, and I think everyone did a little better in the second half.”

While this was an impressive win, Passucci recognizes that with a long season ahead, there is still room for the Raiders to improve to take their gameplay to the next level.

“We definitely need to take care of the ball a little bit better,” Passucci said. “And then in the attacking third we need to be a little more patient.”

Taking care of the ball is something that the team must focus on in the future, but performances such as a hat trick from Ethan Koseoglu are something that the team will hopefully like to see happen again in the future. 

Coach Passucci had some praise from his two captains, Koseoglu and Senior Jason Trivisonno, on the 5-1 win and what they have been able to add to the team. 

“They’ve been good leaders in the training sessions and they’ve been good leaders off the field as well,” Passucci said.