Loy Norrix varsity soccer took on rivals Kalamazoo Central at Norrix on Sept. 8th. With Loy Norrix varsity having a 3-3 record, and JV with a 4-2 record, they both needed the win.

 As with most rivalry games, both student sections were very loud which adds pressure on the players. 

Loy Norrix varsity lost 3-4, with sophomore Nico Morales-Sanchez scoring one goal and sophomore Sam Schnell scoring 2 goals. 

Varsity has 13 seniors on the team, and this will be the last high school rival game they ever play in. One of the seniors and second year varsity player, Zach Eldred, is a captain on the team.

“A rivalry game like KC is always going to be a big game where emotions are going to be involved,”  said Eldred. “This is my senior year so I personally wanted to do everything I could to win that game because there’s a good chance this will be the last time I play them.”

Considering the loss, Eldred and his varsity teammates feel they slipped up.

“We feel as if we played most of the game well. There was a period of 10-15 minutes where we lost our rhythm a bit and conceded 3 of our goals, but we showed great character to bring the game back to 3-3 following our coach’s red card,” Eldred said.

Though the varsity game was a loss, Norrix found a small victory that night. With the JV win, coach Scott Haas is now 5-0 against KC for both men’s and women’s soccer. 

“We have had more talented teams since I became the JV coach,” Haas said. “This includes both the boys’ and girls’ teams.” 

Loy Norrix junior varsity (JV) ended with a close 2-0 win, with goals by sophomores Owen Nicole and Hunter Bennett.

“The boys were lacking energy and didn’t play their best game, however, I feel they played well enough to win,” said Haas. “Good teams are able to dig down and find ways to win even when they aren’t playing their best. The 2022 boys team has a lot of potential. They have come together to play as a team without being selfish. That, along with a lot of individual talent, led to a big win.”