Co-authored by Keegan McMahon ’21 and Jaden Weinstein ’21
On Friday, Oct. 18, it was the first night game at Kingswood Oxford in a long time, and the new lights illuminated the field. The varsity boys and girls soccer teams playing that night were focused and determined to win their games. The crowd was wild, yelling with team spirit and chanting to encourage their team to win.
The girls’ soccer varsity team played at 5:15 p.m. against Westminster School. The girls got off to a great start as they got a penalty kick off a foul. Senior midfielder Captain Jamie Scarpantonio scored this penalty kick with ease, and the Wyverns were off to a great start. Throughout the first half, the girls played with poise and enjoyed the game on the turf. “I love playing on turf and think that our team as a whole does too,” Scarpantonio said. The Wyverns went down two in the first half with a score of 2-1 but continued to battle throughout the whole game, ultimately losing 4-1 to a skilled Westminster team. The team was overall very excited for the game and could not wait to play the night before homecoming. Even though the girls lost, many people came out to support and everyone had fun bringing the community together.
The boys varsity soccer team played their game at 7:15 p.m. against Marianapolis School. At this time, the sky was pitch black and just as the girls game, the bleachers were overflowing with fans. The team was focused and determined to win, walking on to the turf with confidence. The boys had a great start to the game with sophomore Brio Aslan, breaking through the defense and scoring a goal with ease in the bottom corner of the net. The crowd went wild which gave the boys the adrenaline to play well the whole game. “It was great having the crowd cheering us on, they really kept us in the game, and contributed to the victory,” Aslan said.
Later in the game, the boys got a penalty kick which senior Brandon Stake took. The crowd went quiet, allowing Stake to focus, and it paid off when he scored a strong penalty kick. Throughout the game, the defense was very strong causing the opposing team to only score once during the game. According to Head Coach Hikmet Aslan, senior Captain Jack Risley had the game of his life, playing outside defense and standing as a brick wall on the right wing.
In the last 20 minutes of the game, the Wyverns were up 2-0. Senior Jackson Wolff was carrying the ball up the center of the field. About 10 yards outside the top of the box, he took a rip and he scored a screamer! According to Coach Aslan, it was one of the best goals of the season. Both teams played really well and really enjoyed playing on the turf. “It was so much fun playing on the turf at night. I would love to play on the turf at night again in the future,” junior Colin Ruiz said.
The fans also had a great time. “It was a lot of fun watching the teams play, and I would like for there to be more night games in the future,” junior Ethan Raisner said. A lot of fans stayed through both games, which shows that they were enjoying themselves. Overall, the night games were a success, bringing together the KO community while also helping promote KO athletics.
