Girls
After 13 consecutive years of DCIAA championships, girls varsity soccer is prepared to continue the streak.
As for the beginning of the school season, the Tigers started with a 1-1 tie in a scrimmage against GDS, a 4-1 sweep against Clarksberg, and a whopping 10-0 win against Bell. However, despite multiple victorious outcomes, the team still emphasizes the things they need to work on. Head coach Masoud Montazeri Jouybari says, “We want to continue to develop and unify our mentality and vision based on what we learned from that experience and based on our goals.”
Though the season has just started, everyone on the team has a few common goals that drive the girls to drag themselves out of bed for 6 am practices. “The team really wants to get to the final of DCSAA, which has not happened for 7 years,” Gootman emphasizes. However, the team also has another goal in mind: “I really hope we beat St. Johns,” the team’s biggest competitor, according to Blanco. “We would like to keep the same confidence and winning mentality we had in Tennessee because I think it kept us going.”
Jouybari says he “personally loves to work with JR women’s soccer more than any other team because of their history and culture, and the fact that [they] are a public school which makes it even more motivating to want to fight for a DCSAA final.”
“There is this big thing tying you all together, playing in front of teachers and classmates and representing JR against private schools,” Gootman says. “I will leave this team after this season with amazing friendships and memories and I could not be more grateful.”
Boys
Boys varsity soccer aims high for the DCSAA championship title, even though in recent years the goal hasn’t been attainable.
The closest they have come was a loss on penalties to St. John’s in the 2018 championship. So, why now? Why might this be the year that the Tigers finally bring home a state title?
Last year the team showed progress, picking up some impressive non-DCIAA wins against Sidwell Friends to start the season, and going on to beat St. Albans in the playoffs.
According to senior captain, Nico Anagnostopoulos, the grit and determination of this Tigers team will be the determining factor in their success. “We’re a very close team. We have a chip on our shoulder and something to prove.”
Jackson-Reed has had a difficult schedule to start the season, winning close games against St. John’s and Bell, and coming away from Bullis with a draw. On October 20, the Tigers take on WIS. Emotions will run high, as WIS is the very team that eliminated the Tigers from the DCSAA playoffs last year. “It’s gonna be a really personal game because they beat us last year,” says junior captain, Quinn McInerney. The game will be made even more hard-fought by the fact that WIS have made the game their homecoming game, because of their lack of a football team.
Once the regular season finishes the main focus is the DCSAA title. Winning a state title is a tall task, but is any task too tall for the Tigers? Though it may look unlikely, no trophy is ever out of reach for JR, and you can expect the Tigers to put forward their best attempt to finally take home a DCSAA title.
