By Jaiden Fisher-Dayn

After a long road to the finals and two amazing seasons, both the boy’s and girl’s soccer teams finished off by winning both the city championships. It started off with the boys, who were facing John Adams in the finals. John Adams’ side of the field was half full with fans, and they were pretty loud if you were near them. But on the Beacon side, it was impossible to hear anything else than the constant Beacon chants led by seniors. The game was played at St. John’s University, right in the middle of Queens, and over an hour commute from Beacon. To Beacon students, however, the distance didn’t matter. The Beacon stands were filled with students, teachers, and parents, who kept energy high for the duration of the two games.

The boys started off strong. Within the first five minutes senior Jaden Graber scored the first goal on a free kick. Remember that name. The captain of the team, who already was in the top five in goals scored in the city, had maybe the best performance I had seen in a soccer game. He dominated the offensive end, and every time he touched the ball you had a feeling it was going to end up in a goal. Not long after, Xavier ‘22 Beeby Pierre, scored t off an assist from Jaden. With Beacon up 2-0 in the beginning of the first half, the crowd went absolutely wild. Members of Beacon’s Basketball and Baseball teams all came in their Beacon gear and students from all grades filled the stands from the first row to the last. The chanting and cheering didn’t stop after that as just being up 2-0 did not satisfy the players nor the fans. Not long after, Jaden scored his second goal putting Beacon up 3-0. As the roars from the crowd only got louder, everyone was beginning to see it was going to be a memorable night for him. Up 3-0 in the first half, John Adams did respond. They took advantage of the one break they had, and converted. They made it 3-1, the only time they would score. Beacon immediately came back though, with Jaden scoring yet another goal. A hat trick just in the first half for the dominating senior. You couldn’t have asked him to play a better game, and most couldn’t even imagine one being such a dominant force for the Blue Demons. 

Jaden would continue his memorable night scoring 5 out of Beacon’s 7 goals, the most goals scored by a player in PSAL soccer finals history. Although the offense may have been the highlight of the game, it was Beacon’s defense that completely stopped John Adams’ players from getting anywhere near the goal.. In the second half, the blowout continued, but then the rain came and the temperatures dropped. It got really cold, and I thought I would see kids leaving. After all, it was late and everyone was getting soaked. But instead of leaving, everyone just got louder. You may have not been able to feel your fingers, or sit in a dry area, but everyone was definitely committed to supporting the girls and finishing off the night with another win. 

The win for the girls definitely did not come as easy as one for the boys. In fact, Brooklyn Tech quickly went up with a 1-0 lead and sustained it for most of the game. It was an aggressive battle with two talented teams fighting it out. The Lady Demons battled to get back in the game. With 20 minutes left in the second half, Beacon had a few breakaways. Every single time the ball reached Beacon’s side of the field, every person in the stands stood up, anxiously waiting for the game tying goal. That goal would come when Sydney Poppinga ‘21 scored a phenomenal goal to tie the game. This was the loudest Beacon’s crowd had been all night. We all knew the momentum had switched and it was Beacon’s game to take, but the ball wouldn’t end up in the net before regulation ended. The rain hadn’t stopped, the cold got colder, and the crowd got louder. It was overtime in the finals; a chance for Beacon to win two soccer championships in the span of 4 hours. All it took  was that one corner kick about 2 minutes into overtime. It was the cross which Lourdes Reardon ‘22 put in for the victory goal. As the ball hit the netting, the night ended in a loud roar with everyone jumping up from their seats to celebrate the second victory of the night and a full Beacon sweep.

Both soccer teams set the standard for Beacon athletics this year, as did our other sports teams. That same night, the girls volleyball team emerged victorious in their first playoff game. Both basketball teams have been practicing non-stop as the season approaches. This will be an interesting year for Beacon sports and it has started with a bang, with the clinching of both soccer championships.