The boys soccer team’s season ended with a 3-2 loss against Plano West in the first round of playoffs on March 20. The Hawks finished the season in second place in the district with a 12-4-4 overall record and a 8-2-4 record in district play.
“[We] knew that Plano West [has] one of the best attacks in the area,” head coach Mathew Zimmerman said. “They’re good through and through, but they’re very potent on offense. I was worried about getting into a high-scoring game, as I don’t think that plays into what we want to do, because low-scoring affairs are a little bit more beneficial to us.”
This year marks the first time that the Hawks have been eliminated in the first round of playoffs since Zimmerman’s arrival at Hebron.
“Throughout the season, [it was] our own mistakes that made us lose games,” midfielder Gray Dains said. “We weren’t surprised that we lost, because we’ve made those mistakes before in the [regular] season.”
This is the second time in school history that the Hawks have made it to the playoffs for three-straight seasons.The last couple of years, the team has made deep runs in the playoffs, but broke that streak this season.
“When you’re coming off of seasons with a lot of success, pressure continues to build up,” Zimmerman said. “Expectations get higher and higher; that weighs on the boys’ minds. They know that there is history to be made when it comes to that sort of thing. It doesn’t matter where we finish the year before [or] who’s coming in as a freshman. The expectation is that we’re going to challenge for district championships and we’re going to be in the playoffs every year.”
While the philosophy won’t change, the squad will. With much of the lineup — including the starting back line — being made up of graduating seniors, the team will have to adjust to the roster overhaul.
“[Our] biggest strength is the connection between all of us,” senior Cole Jiranek said. “We are all good friends, [and] none of us has problems with each other. It may be a little quieter [next year] because you can’t create the same thing each year. Every team is unique.”
Zimmerman said team chemistry is crucial to success, and that he believes it’s up to the incoming seniors to lead the squad this upcoming season, while also expecting the JV players to step in if needed. The JV squad hasn’t finished below second place in district in four years.
“It’s [the juniors’] time to step up and lead,” Zimmerman said. ”We want the kids coming in, we want them excited [and] we want them winning at a young age. We want to carry that winning attitude and feeling all the way up through varsity, because that’s what our goal is. We want to win championships.”
