By Alex Stogdill

Soccer is in the air! Your North Star Navigators have already begun their 2013 season and have made some great accomplishments already. Like every year, teams look to improve from previous years, and this season the Gators are looking to do just that.

The boys didn’t necessarily start off their season the way they wanted to with a loss to the East Spartans, 1-0 which was the same circumstance for last year’s team.

Although they started with a close loss, the Gator boys fired up and won five games straight. It is a real accomplishment to win two or three games in a row, but five is a real statement. Three of these games were on the road against teams like Hastings, Columbus, and Norfolk. The last win of that five game winning streak came as sweet revenge against the East Spartans in the first round of the Heartland Athletic Conference (HAC) tournament in Grand Island. That was the first time the North Star boys have beaten East in North Star’s history. Unfortunately, that streak came to an end when the boys lost two straight games in the HAC tournament against Lincoln Southwest and Lincoln Southeast, and our Gators placed fourth in the tournament.

Even with this little slump in their season, the players have been very excited about their successes so far in the season. Senior Cruz Martinez said, “I feel like the season has gone fairly well and I feel like we have made some good progress so far.” Martinez is a senior captain on this year’s team and has been a four-year varsity player. Being his senior year, he was asked what he wanted the most out of this year; “I would really like to go to state for my last season here at North Star.”

The boys have only made it to state in soccer one time in the school’s history, so it would be a great accomplishment if they were able to make it to state for North Star. This year’s team has the potential to do so. Alex Becker (11), a captain on the team, feels that this year’s team has bonded really well and is turning into a family. “We all have the same goal and that’s to make it to state for the second time in school history,” Becker said. The boys soccer team has a chance to do very well if they keep working hard. They have received a lot of support from many people at North Star and from other places as well, but they will need this to be continued as they head farther into the season, trying to reach their goal.

The boys aren’t the only ones who have been successful this year. The girls have done well this year too. They went on a very good winning streak as well.

After they started the year with an 0-3 record, the lady Gators went on a three game winning streak, which included wins over Lincoln Northeast, Norfolk, and Fremont. This is a very positive step for our girls soccer program, considering it is a fairly young team. There are only three seniors with many underclassmen. This could prove to benefit our lady Gators in the future as they gain valuable experience and confidence. One of those underclassmen is sophomore Kelsey Cumblidge. She also played for the Gators as a freshman. “I want to work for my team and put all of my teammates before myself. I also want to keep a positive attitude on the field and keep improving each and every day.”

The team aspect of soccer is a very important characteristic of the game. Our lady Gators understand that concept very well, as mentioned by Cumblidge, “This year we have built a great bond between one another and these ladies are my family, knowing the fact that we would do anything for each other.”

Even though the girls only have three seniors, there is no lack of leadership on this year’s team. They receive some of this leadership from their captains. One of these captains is Kyra Stradley (11). With a young team, there can be a lot of differences from previous LNS teams. “I think we have very good attitudes this year, we are very close, and we have good team chemistry,” Stradley said. Stadley was also asked what she most liked about soccer season at North Star and she said, “I love spending time with the team. We are family.”

All of these girls are very close to one another and work very hard to do their best. They have done a great job so far and they can continue to do that throughout the season as they continue giving it all they have.

The soccer season has just begun and there is much more to come as it progresses.The boys and girls teams should be very proud of their accomplishments so far, but also strive to do better each and every time they step onto the pitch.