The Washington School soccer team is filled with experienced players who each know how to play their positions well.
When General coach Jeffrey Giachelli talks about his players, he is filled with praise for each of them, especially the seniors leading the team this year.
The leadership and bond between Washington 12th graders Caleb Janous, Eli Fratesi, Bogan Brewer, John Bentely Suares, Will Giachelli and Eric Pham is the main reason why the Generals have a 9-1 record this season, heading into their home game against St. Aloysius Monday.
Brewer, for example, has helped the Generals win a number of game with all the saves he has made in the Washington goal this year.
Fratesi, meanwhile, has done yeoman’s work getting the ball in the net this season. And, most of these goals have been set up by the fine play of players like Will Giachelli, Janous and Suares.
“The core group of seniors on the team is as a tight a group as I have seen,” Coach Giachelli said. “They know each other so well, and have been playing together for so long that they have really developed a great feel as to how to play the right game forever,” the Washington coach said.
Perhaps, the biggest moment so far this season for the Generals was when they went on the road on Jan. 13 and defeated St. Aloysius 4-2. The win was so meaningful because it came after Washington’s first loss of the season, a tough 4-3 road loss to Pillow on Jan. 9. “The boys really stepped up in that game and scored a couple of quick goals,” Coach Giachelli said. “That was a big point in our season.”
The Generals fine play on the field has not gone unnoticed in the Washington School community. Players from other sports at the school have become some of the biggest fans of the Generals. Washington School girls basketball coach Yvette McPherson even moved the time of practice one day this week in order to let the players on her team come out to watch the Generals play.
“The school has really supported us. They have all gotten behind us, and it really means a lot,” Giachelli said.
