With two consecutive postseason wins, the Foxes are asking “Why not us?”
Goalie Jonah Bierig ’24 commented on the team’s slogan: “The Phillies really inspired us as being the underdogs coming in. We’re the 12th seed coming in to play the first seed this Saturday in the semifinals and, like, why not us? Anything’s possible, anything can happen.”
Head Coach Mike Schlotterbeck said that he “challenged the team to adopt the mentality of ‘Why not us?’ as an underdog” in the “wide open” Non-Public B bracket, which has ultimately proved to be extremely successful.
Coming into the first round of NJSIAA playoffs, expectations were low for the team. The 21-person varsity roster entered the postseason with a 4-10-1 record, high hopes, and nothing to lose.
On October 31, boys’ soccer played Holy Cross, the fifth seed, in the first round of the NJSIAA playoffs, and stress levels ran high for the team. Senior center-back Sulayman Hussain explained that the team “just played [their] hardest” because “it could be [their] last game of the season.” He went on to say that the team “outplayed them, out-hustled them, out-worked them.”
After a hard-fought first half knotted up at 0-0, Preston Galanis ’25 scored the only goal with eight minutes left in the game. He noted that “it felt great, honestly, because we should’ve been winning by a lot by then but just to finally put the ball in the back of the net, especially on that really crappy field, it just felt really good.”
This key play secured the Foxes’s spot in the quarterfinals against fourth seed Gloucester Catholic.
Boys’ Soccer defeated Gloucester Catholic 4-1 to advance to the semifinals of the NJSIAA Non-Public B Tournament! Preston Galanis (’25) scored 2 goals for the Foxes.
— MFS WordsWorth (@MFSWordsWorth) November 2, 2022
The next round of competition took place at Gloucester Catholic on November 2, where the Foxes entered as underdogs, but finished on top.
Galanis had two goals; Jared Kolaris ’25, and Alex Kostopolous ’26 contributed one each, with a final score of 4-1. Their defense was strong with limited shots attempted against Bierig in goal.
Schlotterbeck explained that “the team has prepared very well, and it has taken a great effort from every player to get to this point. The coaching staff really wanted to see this group be rewarded with some success, but ultimately they had to accomplish it themselves on the field.”
MFS will play first-seed St. Rose in the semifinals on Saturday, November 5, with hopes of advancing to the NJSIAA Non-Public B championship game.
