This past week, the boys soccer team played in the metro soccer tournament and had great success in doing so. The tournament started last Wednesday, where the team faced Omaha Bryan. They won the game easily 10-0, with hatricks from junior Jack Finocchiaro and sophomore Marvin Rameriz.

On Thursday, the team faced defending state champs Millard West at Westside. With plenty of fans coming out for the game, the team didn’t disappoint. They handled Millard West, getting a 5-0 win and another hat trick from Finocchiaro to advance to the semifinals

In the semifinals, the team faced Creighton Prep on Saturday. This game proved to be emotional and difficult, as there were four yellow cards given between both teams and plenty of missed shots and great saves. Ultimately, Westside came out on top 1-0 to go to the championship game. On the win against Prep, head coach John Brian was ecstatic to say the least.

“It’s always sweet beating Prep,” Brian said. “I think our players were more focused than prep. They came in thinking they were better, being number one in the state, hadn’t been scored on all year and we held them to two shots in the first half. That showed we’re not to be taken lightly.”

For the championship, the team played Millard North, the only team to beat them this season. The game started with Millard North attacking early, but senior and goalkeeper Sam Arnold was able to save all the shots in the first half. The first score came with about 10 minutes left in the first from junior Hunter Kruse hitting a 33 yard goal. Then Millard North answered in the second half, but ultimately the game came down to a PK taken by Jack Finocchiaro with 11 minutes left in the game. He hit a dribbler in the right corner of the goal to win the game and the Metro Tournament for Westside.

With the win, Westside has a 9-1 record and potentially a number one ranking in class A. After a strong tournament, senior captain Joe Fehr is pleased with the results, but wants to keep the team’s eyes on the prize.

“Going forward this means that we need to step up our game because now every time we step on the field we will have a target on our back,” Fehr said. “Our main goal going forward is to win state and I think this proves that we are for sure a contender.”