“LET’S GO.” A blur passes the line of boys’ soccer players standing on the sideline. “DO YOU WANT THIS WIN?” It goes back and forth, gaining momentum, getting the team excited for the game. 

Center back Sulayman Hussain’s (’23) voice can be heard from the Fox Den to the cross country course, whether he is calling for the ball or directing his teammates. To Hussain, the soccer field is more than a place where he can show off his skills: “It’s a place where I can just relax and take my mind off things, somewhere I don’t have to think about any problems in life. I can just hang out with friends, enjoy myself, [and] push myself as hard as I can.”

Hussain left a good impression on the soccer program. By the end of September of his ninth grade year, he had already been called up to varsity. He noticed through the month of October that he “was slowly getting more and more minutes on the field.”

One of his most memorable games with the boys’ soccer team was their Sectional Championship win in 2019: “One of our starting right backs went down and I had to step up and take the role. I remember that was my first start as a varsity player.” He didn’t find out that he was starting until “ten minutes before the game and my heart was pumping. It was a huge step up mentally and physically.”

Head Coach Mike Schlotterbeck referred to Hussain as “the beneficiary of playing with a number of strong, upperclassman soccer players” in his first year with the team. Schlotterbeck said the center back “took a lot of the traits from some of the juniors and seniors that he played with then and he really matured as a young man and soccer player.”

Schlotterbeck said he “still remembers when Sulayman arrived from Abu Dhabi:” “He was a bit of a shy, apprehensive freshman, and I’ve watched him grow and mature over the years.”

As a senior, he now proudly wears the captain band each game. Hussain said because he is captain, “It motivates me to be the best I can to be a good role model” for the rest of the team, because he “knows some of them will be captain next year” and he “wants to set the stage for them.”

Defender Luciano Mazzotta (’23) said Hussain’s “two best qualities as a captain” were “as a motivator and a communicator.” He touched on the upside of having “both captains in the backfield:” “Sometimes they see the field better than me and it always gives me a better chance to know what I need to do. That’s what Sulayman is really good at.”

Although team camaraderie is important, Hussain expressed that the people he truly plays for are his family: “My parents are usually at all of my games, and I want to play well for them.” He has been playing soccer since he was three years old, starting in the United Arab Emirates before he moved to America.

Hussain tries to stay positive for the rest of his team, even on an off-day: “Keeping everyone positive is what I pride myself in doing. I know it’s a natural thing to have your head down after losing five games in a row, but you play better when positive.” He said he tries to “keep my head up and all seventeen players’ heads up [because] when our heads are up, we just play better.”

Coach Schlotterbeck said Hussain “thinks more about the others more than he thinks about himself. He’s very attentive to the dynamics of the team, each individual player and where they’re at.” 

In October, Hussain said his main goal for this season was to “improve as the season goes on so that we’re playing the best soccer and hopefully make a playoff push.” Boys’ soccer made their strongest playoff run since 2019 this season, falling to St. Rose in the semifinals of the NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public B Tournament. 

He said he doesn’t really have pre-game rituals or superstitions, but he “[tries] to mentally prepare myself:” “Usually during last period, I kind of tune out of class and start locking-in for the game.” Stepping into his captain role, he prepares for his team ahead of time: “I watch some film on our team and on the other team just to have a grasp of what the game’s going to look like. I communicate to my team about 30 minutes before the game [about] who their good players are, their strengths and their weaknesses.”

He said that on game days, “we have to be locked-in for eighty minutes,” but the practice environment is one of his favorite parts about being on the team: “It’s a place where we can have fun but be serious at the same time. With practice, you can make jokes while you’re running around the field.”

Mazzotta said during practices, Hussain is “really fun to play with. He’s always happy and always kind.” The center back “always wants the best for the team and he strives to push everyone.”

Finally, Hussain said that, of course, “hav[ing] fun is the most important part” of being on the boys’ soccer team, and leaves some advice to the program: “The season is only two months [for] four years, so every practice, you come to just play as hard as you can. Take advantage of every minute you’re on the field.” He mentioned that “not everyone has this opportunity, … so just taking pride in every day is important.”