WASHINGTON —
Playing soccer for Washington High School can be a gift and a curse.
Getting the opportunity to play for a sports program like the one Hatchets’ boys soccer boasts is a gift for any athlete. But, the sky high expectations can be a curse when those expectations aren’t met.
The 2012 Hatchets (8-2-4) have experienced both this season from incredible highs, like the 14-0 season opening win against Princeton, to the shocking lows of the 7-0 home loss at the hands of rival Vincennes Lincoln.
Head coach Quintin Myers, who knows first hand what the Hatchet program stands for as his father, Kevin Myers, built the program from scratch to the elite one it is today.
Myers thought his team’s heads might have swelled after the Princeton victory, which may have directly attributed to the Lincoln loss that Myers hoped would be a wake up call for his team. After their 3-1 Senior Night victory against Forest Park on Sept. 4, Myers thought his team was “going through the motions” and has seemed utterly disgusted with their effort at times.
After each win, Myers didn’t seem to be satisfied with the direction his team was headed. This may seem odd as the Hatchets have only lost twice in 14 games. All season, Myers has preached to his team that they can do much better. For a while it appeared to an outside observer that maybe this was who they were, a team that could just get by on talent alone.
That was until they took to the road.
Since the Forest Park win, the Hatchets have played their last five matches away from the friendly confines, going 4-1 in that stretch. The only loss, their second of the season came at the hands of 2A No. 5 Valparaiso at the Fort Wayne Canterbury Invite this past weekend. It was in Fort Wayne, that Myers thinks his team turned a corner that could take the Hatchets to heights that didn’t seem realistic three weeks ago. The Hatchets shutout 2A No. 10 Fort Wayne Homestead 2-0 before falling to Valparaiso. The game was the Hatchets’ second in four hours and Valparaiso’s first.
“I’ve been telling them all year they haven’t been playing to the level they should be,” Myers said. “This weekend they stepped up and they took it to those teams.”
What changed for the Hatchets? Going on the road has seemed to unite them and bring out their full potential against some tough competition. In addition to win against Homestead, Washington shutout likely sectional opponent Boonville 1-0.
The level of play the Hatchets displayed against Homestead and Valparaiso has Myers thinking his team can play with anyone, which goes back to his initial expectations for this season, a state championship. With better play comes renewed expectations.
This is nothing new for the Hatchets, the gift and the curse.
Local Sports
Hatchets have a blessing and a curse
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