Playoff games are hands-down some of the most exciting to watch. No matter the sport, league, or region, viewership and team camaraderie skyrocket during the season’s crunch time. The average 2018 group-stage World Cup game saw 190 million viewers, whereas the final of that World Cup saw over 517 million viewers, nearly triple that of an average game. When the Section 1 Boys Soccer playoffs began in late October, the Varsity Boys Soccer team had to crank it up a notch with the support of fans across the school community.

Due to Greeley’s student body size, the soccer team fit cleanly in neither the “A” nor “AA” divisions, which are based on the population of the competing schools. This resulted in an abnormal 2022 season in which the team played the regular season in the tougher “AA” division, but the playoffs in the “A” division. The team boasted an impressive 12-2-2 record in the regular season but, unlike other teams, they were unfamiliar with the competition they faced in the playoffs. While the situation was expected to cause some angst among the players, that could not have been further from the truth. When asked about the team’s mentality, senior Bryan Ji kept his response direct and simple: “Our mentality stays the same – new competition is just new teams we will beat.” Ji was a part of the impressive 2021 Greeley soccer team that, after a solid season, was unfortunately knocked out of the playoffs in the preliminary round. This year’s team was completely focused on making sure they didn’t repeat last season’s playoff troubles. While things seemed sound from the players’ perspective, team manager Thomas Singer relayed the same confidence as Ji while taking into account the new division, stating, “The team is feeling great going into playoffs and after playing a class AA regular season, we’re more than ready for class A playoffs… this is a very special team that we think can go all the way.”

To stay focused on getting prepared for playoffs, players purposefully ignored the assumptions that any division was easier than another; all that mattered was beating the team that stood in front of them. However, when asked his thoughts on the change, Singer said that it only supported the teams and their abilities: “AA is a harder division which means that we will have a better shot at winning sectionals in the A division.” He viewed this change as a clear cut advantage over their competition. While their lack of knowledge on playoff competition could be seen as potentially detrimental, Singer viewed it as a huge positive. “We think that it’s a huge advantage that no teams we may play in the playoffs have played us yet because they don’t know what’s coming. We’re gonna catch them off guard when the time comes.”

Taking Section 1 soccer by storm appears to be exactly what they did, with Lohud writer Mike Dougherty putting the thoughts of Section 1 into words in his article Here are 25 Section 1 Teams Getting Attention Down the Stretch, asking: “Who are these guys?”

The team had nothing but confidence in their own ability despite the unusual situation. It was clear that this squad was strong, but looking at their pure optimism, they seemed even stronger than expected. With a Sectional Semifinals finish after a narrow loss to No. 1-ranked Yorktown in 2022, it’s safe to say that big things are expected when next fall’s playoffs roll around. There is no reason to say that this team can’t go all the way in 2023.