BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
The Clarkston JV-A Boys Soccer team finished their season on a successful note as they tied two longstanding school records.
They had the most mercy shutouts with a total of four and also had the most wins with a 13-3 overall record.
“I felt we, as a team, really bonded and that helped with our team chemistry,” said captain junior Chad Morris. “This allowed us to reach these significant achievements.”
Coach Brian Bridgeman contributed their success and high quality of goals scored, 47 total, as a result of their trust in each other.
“Everyone seemed to feed off of the unselfish team concept,” he added. “The four 8-0 mercy shutouts were all a result of everything coming together as a team.  We had some great athletes, and when we created space and moved the ball quickly our opponents seemed to be 2-3 steps behind us.  That is when we scored in bunches.  All of the credit goes to the boys, true team effort.”
Favorite moments during the season include games against Berkley and Avondale.
“We came into the game too confident,” Morris said about the Berkley game, adding the boys were down 0-1 at halftime. “The varsity coach (Curtis Payment) challenged us to show him why we deserved to be moved up to varsity. As the second half started the intensity came back into our play style. We pulled together as a team with five minutes left and scored the tying goal. Then, we scored the winning goal with 12 seconds left.”
For Bridgeman it was the Avondale game and junior Derek Hanson, their backup center midfielder, with a hat trick.
“His first goal was from 30 yards out,” he shared. “He noticed the goalie was off of his line, so he hit a bending shot over the goalie into the far post.
“His second goal came halfway through the second half, when he finished on a beauty corner kick from Austin Hayes,” he continued. “His head seemed to be two feet above everyone when he headed into the corner. Then, with eight minutes left in the game, his teammate Zach Senko was taken down in the box for a penalty kick. Zach immediately told Derek to take it, to give his teammate the opportunity for the hat trick, complete unselfishness, what it takes to be great.”
Morris added the season was a great experience and the players grew from each competition.
“I believe the accomplishments were a reflection of how good these boys were as a team,” said Bridgman. “Their chemistry just improved game by game and practice after practice. They just completely embraced the team idea, with complete unselfishness and total trust in each other.  As a result, they played a very consistent high level of soccer.”
The team includes freshman DJ Morgan; sophomores Hayes, Senko, Nathan Murray, Kyle Roland, Alex Scholte, Zachary Senko, Alex Stuenkel, Justin Spehar, Maclain Zaremba; juniors Hanson, Morris, Jacob Bore, Andre Cumurca, Parker Daly-Seiler, Finn Eblenkemp, Cody Hurren, Trevor Massey, Daniel Prada, Michael Weiler and David Zurek.
“The season as a whole was one where everyone learned and improved as individuals as well as teammates throughout the season,” said Bridgeman. “Each player had some sort of adversity and overcame it. Each player had success and his entire team embraced him for it. This year proved to me role players can create that ultimate team experience, which is what Clarkston JV-A Boys Soccer had this year.”

  Boys JV-A Soccer, clarkston, Soccer