Two freshmen made the varsity soccer team, and one of them is freshman Miles Oksman. The Warriors won over Lincoln East 2-0 on Saturday, March 23. Oksman was one of the scorers with a header. He explained his background and what it means for him to make the varsity team as a freshman.
“I started playing soccer when I was about two, and my dad has been my coach for my first ten years. I was always kicking the ball at my brother’s and sister’s game, so I always grew up with it,” Oksman said. “It’s pretty cool to be a freshman on varsity. I’m happy I got selected and I get to play with some of my closest friends.”
Head coach Mike Dean shared his thoughts about the 2-0 win, and why he wasn’t surprised to see Oksman scoring a goal.
“A lot of good ball circulation, and the movement was great. I just need to finish a little bit more at the end, just a little finishing touch,” Dean said. “I wasn’t surprised because he has played really well the last week. He started out injured at the start of the season and through tryouts, but when you work hard like he does good things will happen even to the young guys.”
Oksman is not a starter. He replaces either senior Mo Hilowle or senior Landon Francis, which are both of Oksman’s good friends. He expressed how Westside’s start of the season was and what the team does well.
“We had a pretty good start, obviously we would like to go 4-0, we let one game slip, but we are not going to let that stop us,” Oksman said. “We practice and have great energy, coaches always come up with great tactics and we get our mindset right before a game and do our best.”
Oksman is one of the newcomers with a lot of veterans on the team. Dean explained what he saw in Oksman and what he contributes to the team.
“I’ve seen him play before so I know he has got some intelligence on the ball, he does something other Forwarders don’t do, he will make runs while others don’t, so if the starters aren’t clicking he is one that changes things up,” Dean said. “I think you’re going to see goals from him here and there, and see him create a few. I thought he could’ve had another one on Thursday, but if he stays healthy and on task I expect him to be helping us out not only for this year but for the coming years.”
Oksman has three more seasons to compete for the Warriors after this one, but he explained the team goals for the current season and described how it’s going so far.
“We obviously want to make it to state and win it this year, we got so close a couple years ago against Gretna, we are going to get back there and win state and metros,” Oksman said. “The season is really fun. We go out to eat after wins and the coach is full of energy and gets us going, so it’s a really fun time.”
The Warriors will play Central, who is undefeated this season. Dean shared how they are heading into next week after this win.
“It is very important to get to 3-1, Central is undefeated and they are a very good team so it’s going to be a great test for us,” Dean said. “ We have about four games within a week on Tuesday, Central at home, Grand Island at home on Friday, Bellevue East on Saturday, and Northwest at home. If we get past these next couple games I think it looks good for us going forward.”
Westside hosts Grand Island at 6 p.m. Friday, March 29.
