by Jimmy Yates ‘21

Sherwood boys’ soccer had one of its most successful seasons last year when the team reached the 4A state semi-finals where they lost to BCC 1-0. Due to the loss of last year’s senior standouts Ronald Little and Alhaji Turay, who are both currently playing Division I soccer, the 7-5 Warriors this season have a mixed record against the strongest teams in the county.

On Friday October 12, Sherwood fell 3-1 to Magruder, a 3A high school that is undefeated in its division. The Warriors didn’t possess the ball consistently against the Colonels and were unable to mount a comeback in the second half. The players didn’t play simple passes and instead emphasized clearing the ball up the field. “We need to figure out how to maintain the ball better,” said Coach Matthew Parsons.

On October 16, a chilly Tuesday night, the Warriors faced off against Damascus and celebrated senior night. Improving from their performance against Magruder, Sherwood possessed the ball better and focused on smaller passes. Fifteen minutes into the second half, senior Abu Bakar put Sherwood up 1-0, which led to the Warriors’ victory.

The strong performance against Damascus helped offset tough losses earlier in the season.

The Warriors lost to Northwest 4-0 in a downpour on September 8. Then, on September 26, the Warriors fell to the 2015 champs, Walter Johnson, 2-1. Unable to repeat a win like last year against WJ, Sherwood’s lone goal was scored by junior midfielder Diego Ramirez. In the game, the players “didn’t look urgent crashing the box,” like the team did last year against WJ, said senior central defender and captain Andrew Ventura. “Our finishing was very poor compared to last year.”

About two weeks after the Walter Johnson game, Quince Orchard beat the Warriors 2-1. “We played as a strong and focused team in the first half, but we lost our focus and let them come back in the second,” said sophomore midfielder Derick Ventura. The Warriors were unable to capitalize on the opportunities that they had.

The Warriors did get one big win midway through the season when they beat Blair 2-1 on October 1. “Blair was a strong team,” said junior forward Brian Nolasco. “Northwest and WJ were very similar teams to Blair. They fought hard and deserved the result they got against us.”

The Warriors have proved their dominance over the less-competitive teams and avoided upsets, with the possible exception of 3-2 loss to Wheaton in their final game of the regular season on October 19. Sherwood earned victories in a 4-0 win over Paint Branch, 6-1 win over Springbrook, a 4-0 victory over Blake, and a 4-1 over Clarksburg. This year, the Warriors have a much better record at home than away: 5-1 at home compared to 2-3 away.

Entering as the fourth seed in their bracket, Sherwood will face Northwood in the first round of the playoffs at home today. During the regular season, the Warriors lost to Northwood 2-0 in a rescheduled away game. In last year’s playoff game against Northwood, the Warriors won 3-1 in the second round. If Sherwood comes out on top in that match-up, they will travel to Urbana, which earned a bye in the first round. On their run to the state semi-finals last year, Sherwood was able to slide past Urbana, winning 2-1 in the third round. If the Warriors can repeat that win, they will move on to the quarterfinals and attempt to make it to the semifinals as they did last year.