In the 2023 fall season of high school soccer, teams from various NYC high schools such as John Dewey High School, Abraham Lincoln High School, New Utrecht High School, Fort Hamilton High School, and various other high schools gather to test their mettle and challenge each other. Having started the season in early September, the boy’s soccer team did not have an ideal start, with 4 losses, 2 wins, and 1 tie. Then around mid-October, the boys started to dominate, surprising the school with their prowess.
How did the team initially start?
Starting their season against Fort Hamilton High School on September 7th the team did not do the best, losing 4-0 against the opposing high school. This was followed with a close game against New Utrecht, still losing 2-3 against them. The team was able to secure their first win on September 12th against Franklin D. Roosevelt High School, winning 4-0. A later game was against Erasmus Hall High School on the 19th of September, the boy’s soccer team suffered a close loss against the Erasmus team, losing 4-3. Soon after the team played against Abraham Lincoln High School on September 30th and were able to win 3-2, securing their first win of the season. This victory was followed up by a loss against Fort Hamilton High School, losing 3-0, and then a tie against Franklin D. Roosevelt High School 1-1. One of the team’s defenders Alex Chen stated, “We did pretty crap. The beginning was hard and some of the games were unfair.” Although not the worst start, the team had only secured one win and it was a close game at that. Something needed to be done to secure victory and make it to the playoffs. The team started to execute their proficiency in the sport.
When did the team start “dominating”?
After tying against Franklin D. Roosevelt, the boy’s soccer team improved drastically, initiating the dominant period of the team. On October 11th, after having suffered a previous 3-4 loss against Erasmus Hall High School, the boys were able to get their revenge, having a 3-1 victory against them, asserting total dominance during the game. After winning this game, the boys had to play against New Utrecht next, whom they’d previously lost 2-3. On October 13th the boy’s soccer team was able to dominate this game as well, winning 3-1 against New Utrecht, getting their revenge for their previous loss. The team was on a winning streak after the Utrecht game and kept winning later games to come such as the game against Boerum Hill School & Digital Tech, winning 2-0 against them. The boys had 1 more game to play and it was against Abraham Lincoln High School, this would determine if the team would be able to compete in the playoffs. The boys were able to win 4-1 against Lincoln, dominating their final game and making it to playoffs.
The Perseverance in Playoffs
Having won their game against Abraham Lincoln High School, the Dewey Dragons were up against Curtis High School, one they hadn’t played against that season. This was also one of the hardest games they’d played this season according to the team. That did not stop the Dragons from winning their first game 1-0, marking their first victory in the playoffs, leaving the team and its supporters exalted. One would assume that in the second game in playoffs, the dragons would have a harder time performing due to better competition but in this case, the dragons won their second game in playoffs against John Bowne High School, winning by a staggering 5-1 lead. At this point several students who were not in the flow of school sports all knew about the great accomplishments of the boy’s soccer team, liking the Instagram posts and being up to date on the current games. The boys were on a very hot winning streak, having won 6 games in a row, 2 of them being in playoffs, the most recent being the determining factor on whether the boys would compete in the quarter-finals. The next game would determine if the boys would make it to the semi-finals, the last game before the end of playoffs.
The End of an Era
On November 8th, 3:00 PM the Dragons were going against Stuyvesant, who at this point had a winning streak of 5 games, also dominating other high schools. Having played their quarter-final game, the Dragons finally lost a close game of 1-2, ending their winning streak and participation in the playoffs. The team credited their wins towards their newer players, saying they were a large component of their success during the season. After having the loss sink in, the soccer team’s coach, Coach Murphy left a special thank you note on the boy’s soccer team’s Instagram page. She stated, “We shattered expectations. We went from losing game after game to the AA Quarterfinals. No one expected it, because no one knew what you gentlemen are capable of. Your only limitation is yourselves. Believe in yourselves. Trust each other, and you will never have limitations again.”, later proceeds to thank the school community and its supporters for being there, as well as the extraordinary players.
