![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Boys’ varsity soccer loses to Sacred Heart Preparatory
Jeremiah Anderson (12) dribbles the ball away from a defender. The boys lost 0-5 yesterday.
The varsity boys’ soccer team lost to Sacred Heart Preparatory 0-5 yesterday at its tenth game of the season.
Prior to warming up for the game, Nick Acero (9), one of the team’s left wingers, spoke about the time he has spent with his teammates this season
“The experience has been great since all of us see each other at school, which in turn allows for a good environment for the team to be in.” Nick said. “I expect for us to work hard throughout the game and come out with a good result.”
One of the team captains, midfielder Jeremiah Anderson (12), commented on his expectations for the game.
“Going into games you always have to expect to win the game, but all you can ask from the team is hard work and dedication,” he said. “As to how we will improve today, I think we will fight and scrap the whole 80 minutes, and have more confidence on the attack.”
The other team captain, Brandon Aguilar (12), who plays as defender and winger, talked about the strategies that the team improved on since their last game.
“Last game against Priory, we saw that we that had more chances to score than the other team but didn’t execute them,” Brandon said. “Since then we have practiced on creating space for our wingers and forwards to attack the box.”
From the start, both teams faced off and fought hard, making each play last a considerable amount of time. After 15 minutes, the Gators were able to score the first goal of the game, making the score 0-1.
The Eagles then began to slow down their plays, losing the ball more often than before, allowing their opponents to score another goal.
Despite planning new strategies for this game, the boys were not able to score a goal in today’s game. Sacred Heart Preparatory also added three more goals throughout the remainder of the game.
As the end of the season approaches, the team’s goalkeeper, Jason Jeong (12), commented about how the team plans to improve for future games
“We were looking forward to a big game from the entire team, but they just played a lot more aggressively than we did,” Jason said. “We had a really productive talk after the game about how we need to change our mentality and start playing harder for the guy next to you.”
After the match, Head Coach Shaun Tsakiris commented on their performance.
“Anytime we lose, it’s not a good feeling, but I’m more concerned about their effort and their mental approach to the game, which I felt was very poor. Anytime you start a match not mentally prepared, results like this in games will happen,” Coach Shaun said. “I’m hoping that this feeling of losing will bother them enough that they change their mental approach in training and in matches.”
The boys will be playing their next home game against The Menlo School at Davis Field, next Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Gloria Guo is a junior and Academics Editor for TALON Yearbook. This is Gloria's third year on staff. In her free time, Gloria enjoys running and listening...