This year, the Varsity Boys’ Soccer team is having the best season De Soto High School soccer has ever seen. With a 15-2 record, DHS has clinched a League championship and on Thursday night they will compete with the Piper Pirates for the regional championship at 5:30 p.m.

Head coach Jesse Smith attributes most of his team’s success to the friendship the players have between each other.

“We came together in the offseason and we’re a team. At this point we’re unstoppable,” Smith said.

Senior Luke Zoller noticed the close bonds between his team as well.

“We’re a lot closer this year, we did some team bonding things earlier in the season, I think that really brought us together. On and off the field we’re really close as a group,” Zoller said.

The “bonding things” Zoller is referring to could be the 12 hour boot camp experience that Lt. Colonel Dowdy led them through at the beginning of the season.

“I think this day will live in our minds throughout the season,” said coach Smith in an earlier interview with the Green Pride.

While the soccer team is succeeding on the soccer field, they are also succeeding in the hallways of DHS, according to activities director Ryan Johnson.

“They’re a fun-loving group, they love to play, and they play for each other. In the halls, they show up, it seems like the soccer players are at volleyball, you see them at football, they’re just supporting everyone else which is great,” Johnson said.

The student section is important to the soccer team, according to Zoller.

“They’re huge, they’re our momentum, they’re a big part of our wins,” Zoller said.

Through the help of the student section as well as close bonds between the team, the Varsity Boys’ soccer team hopes to find success in the regional championship game on Thursday night at 5:30 p.m