Luca Fusco’25
The Gunn Boys Varsity soccer season has reached the halfway point of the season, and it has been a rollercoaster of events. The team has already exceeded expectations by having more wins than last year through only 8 games. The boys are on a good path and hope to continue with this momentum for the rest of the season and make the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
The season started off with a tie to Trinity-Pawling due to hard defensive play from both sides. Following this game, the team went on an impressive winning streak, with a win vs King, a win vs Westminster, and a 2-0 victory over Chesire that put the boys at 3-0-1. The Highlanders were undefeated going into the Brunswick game and had extreme confidence in beating Brunswick, but Brunswick could not afford to lose this game at home, so they beat Gunn 2-1 on a rainy day in Greenwich. The boys then answered profusely with a dominant win on Wooster’s home pitch (4-1–1). Now Sheikh’s team is 4-2-2 after falling to Salisbury and tying with Hopkins 5 to 5.
In their most recent game vs Hopkins, it was a nail-biter 5-5 result. Every time the Highlanders scored a goal to go ahead, Hopkins would come right back with an answer of their own. Although the match ended in a tie, the highlight of the match was star senior forward Karl Hammer. Karl finished the game with four astonishing goals and an overall hard-fought match. Following this, Karl sat down with the media team to release his statement about the game. “Although we tied, it felt like a loss. We played hard but not hard enough; we scored some, but they scored some as well; it was a back-and-forth affair. Overall, we need to use this momentum as a learning opportunity and are hopeful for the next game.” Then he was asked about the next game vs a very good Millbrook team. “I believe they are talented, but having played with kids on their team, we have more talent, and we need to use that against them.”
With a 4-2-2 record at the halfway mark, the varsity boys’ soccer team has shown both resilience, and passion through this competitive season. As they push through the second half stretch, their focus remains on finishing strong and securing a spot in the playoffs. The Millbrook game will be held on Underhill at 3pm on Saturday 10/12.
