The Varsity Men’s Soccer team here at Apex has certainly made a name for themselves over the years. Despite COVID-19 and its effect on school sports, they worked as hard as ever…and it paid off. This season they had an impressive record and made it to the fourth round of the playoffs. The seniors this year were as important to the team as ever and helped secure the spot in the playoffs. As the seniors say farewell, their talents and contributions to the team will be remembered. 

CAT soccer has certainly been through many hardships over the past few years; heartbreaking defeats, COVID-19, and most notably the passing of their former leader, Coach Todd. But the finest steel must go through the hottest flames. They emerged from the regular season with an amazing record of 17-2-1, earning themselves the four seed in the playoff tournament. After breezing through the first three rounds, Apex was finally halted by New Hanover High School, who would go on to win the championship. Even though the team didn’t go undefeated, there is still much to celebrate. Coach Jerry Oglesby took home SWAC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. Senior Drew Ludwig led the team with 15 goals, while seniors Sean Laney and Jaques Lavielle each contributed 12 of their own. 

The team was a well-oiled machine, with Captain Jaques Lavielle commenting on the improvement of the chemistry over the season. A tradition of the CAT Soccer team is to practice at Hunter Street, which heavily contributes to the team’s successes. Along with his responsibilities as a captain of keeping the team ready and focused, he excelled on the field and was named the Conference Player of the Year. When asked about the accomplishment he stated, “It was a really good feeling to be named conference player of the year, I felt that all the hard work I did over the summer paid off.” Jaques has been an asset to the varsity soccer team for four years and will be greatly missed when he graduates. 

Varsity Men’s Soccer has provided us with amazing memories throughout the year. Although it came to a tragic end, the season can be described as an overwhelming success and will not be forgotten any time soon. CAT Soccer has established themselves as one of the best schools in the county and will continue to dominate for years to come.

By: Camille Gottholm and Connor Vandermark