HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER

The Dutch Fork High School boys soccer team are ranked second in the nation in the latest USA Today and United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll. “Well it says that we’ve got a lot of talent,” head coach Jovan Brdarski said. “We’ve got a lot of hard workers and good players to work with. We’ve made them into a good team and we’re very competitive.” Released weekly, the first USA Today and United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll ranked Dutch Fork 2nd after it won the Capital City Cup with a 2-1 victory over defending Class 5A champion and previous number 1 Wando. The win snapped a state-record 58-game winning streak by the Warriors. The Silver Foxes were 6-0 entering Tuesday’s contest versus Chapin. Team captain Damon Williams credits the team’s chemistry for their early success and says they are a brotherhood on and off the field. “This team is really special because we all have a bond off the field,” he said. “We’re like brothers to each other and we’ve all grown up and played together.” Brdarski is in his 4th year as the boys soccer head coach at Dutch Fork and says he just loves helping his players improve.

Dutch Fork’s Damon Williams

“I just really like seeing improvement in people from where they are and the positive effect in how they play and how they act and interact with people,” he said. Williams says the recognition is nice because the team is getting noticed. “It shows that people are actually recognizing what we’ve built here and all the hard work we’ve been putting in during the off season,” he said. Team captain Elliot Fisher knows every team will be gunning for them, but says they are up for the challenge. “Everyone is going to want to beat us, but we are just going to have to keep grinding it out on the practice field and show them what we’ve got,” Fisher said. Brdarski emphasized this team has a long way to go. “We’ve just got to keep on working,” he said. “We’ve got to be humble because there is always someone that is better than you out there. We’ve got to strive to improve all the time no matter if it’s in the classroom, in training or games, we need to keep improving and keep getting better.” Tom Knotts, Dutch Fork High School’s Athletic Director says that athletics like soccer are so important to the development of young people. “You need athletics to become a well-rounded person,” Knotts said. “I think athletics helps round out a person and help them get better assimilated into society.”