The boys soccer team had a stellar 2015 season from the minute they stepped on the field for tryouts, right up until the final seconds of their heartbreaking loss in the Central Mass semifinals.

On November 11, the blondes took on Groton-Dunstable at Nashoba Regional in attempts to move on to the Central Mass Championships.

The T-Hawks battled the Crusaders neck and neck in a nail biting playoff game.  With only two minutes left, Junior Cole Maslanka’s free kick tied up the game making the score 2-2.

“I knew we had to score or else the season was going to be over,” Maslanka remarked.  “After I scored, I felt a humongous adrenaline rush throughout my body.”

The battle carried on into double overtime, when Groton-Dunstable grabbed the win, ending the season for Algonquin.  Despite their devastating loss, the boys had an outstanding season with a final record of 11-3-7.

        There is no doubt that the team was full of spectacular talent, but ending the season with such an impressive record was not an easy feat. Throughout the season the boys had to overcome tremendous adversity, but instead of letting it deter them, they used it as motivation to keep pushing forward.

        “It was tough at the beginning of the season when we had some suspensions and then when the year went on we had more suspensions, but I think that brought us closer together as a team.” senior Nolan Kessinger said.   

“The chemistry was through the roof, especially by the end of the season.  We were all on the same page and I think all that adversity helped us come together as a unit.”

Kessinger’s fellow teammate and classmate Max Michaud, one of the captains for the team, could concur.

        “I think the proudest moment on the team I would say was putting aside all the setbacks that we faced and ignoring what people were thinking and saying about us when it was all around us.  Focusing on being a team and a family and looking ahead in the season and staying together, that was the proudest moment.”

        Michaud also explained how in this year in particular, mental preparation had a lot to do with their success.  Overcoming several obstacles pushed them as players to play with a little more passion, giving them an extra edge.

Although the boy’s were stopped short on the road to states, they were all winners in that they played from the heart and were united as a team and a family.