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Abby Santos

Jaguar history in Boys’ varsity soccer has been a story of highs and lows. They made state championships in 2019, but haven’t been quite able to make it back since. Even so the team was exceptionally strong last year, taking home 16 wins and only 2 losses, and even winning Districts. Just barely knocked out of the competition last year by American Heritage in a shootout after a grueling 2-2 match, they hope to overtake their placing from last year and make it all the to the top, just like in 2019. 

Now, the Jags have begun training for the upcoming season. Andres Vilanova, senior captain, believes that the team is looking pretty good so far and could stack up well for the season ahead. Making some significant changes this year to hopefully make a positive difference in the upcoming season. The team’s strategy has been to focus on a lot of drills related to physical fitness. “We have to be the fittest team, at least to outrun the opponents. We’re a possession based team, we want to keep the ball the whole game,” explained Vilanova. 

However, for others, they’re just starting out this year. Izaak Durand, a freshman here at Charter, is a new addition  to the squad, but has been playing for a while. He’s enthusiastic about joining the team, saying “[I’m] gonna do what I can, do the best, and try putting as much effect as [I] can into the team.” Regarding practice, he said that it’s “been a lot of work, but it’s good, good work to better our players… everyone has something special they contribute to the team.”

Unfortunately, the first few games haven’t been able to happen, with delays due to severe weather and flooding. Despite the setbacks, the team will continue their season as normal from the point of their next game onward. So far, they’ve taken home a single loss against South Broward and a 3-0 win against Nova, and the team still is hopeful for a good season ahead. Vilanova said he’s not entirely sure how their season will turn out, but they “[they] play well together, just need to get some balls into the back of the net.”