Having played its last official match in November, the men’s soccer team will be looking to get back into form in the coming weeks as the Huskies play a series of friendly spring games against other New England schools.
With five matches scheduled between March 25 and April 11, the team will have a chance to gauge its progress and see significant playing time out of younger players who didn’t get as much of a shot last season, said head coach Brian Ainscough.
“From a development standpoint the spring is fabulous for your players because they get a chance to play in games,” he said. “We can see how they’ve progressed and how ready they are for next season.”
The opponents lined up for the Huskies include Boston University, Boston College, Providence, Franklin Pierce, New Hampshire and Southern Connecticut State.
The team is excited to play early matches against nearby schools, said senior forward Ahmed Talaat. He added that the proximity between the schools makes the friendlies more competitive.
“The best part about spring games is you play local New England teams,” he said. “They show a lot more intensity against local teams. If we weren’t playing against local teams it probably wouldn’t be as intense.”
Junior forward and midfielder Lewis Ehrlich said he appreciated the opportunity to work on his game and prepare before summer workouts and the next season.
“It’s a good opportunity to work on some good combinations and a chance to really cement positions on the team,” he said. “It’s better than just practicing all the time.
The team also received some recent recognition. Ainscough was named coach of the year by the Eastern Massachusetts High School Coaches Association in February. He called it an honor and said he appreciated any accolade being given to the program.
“It’s good for the program, and we’re getting some acknowledgement from our peers,” he said. “It’s good to see where we’ve come from in the past three years. For me it’s great when other coaches give you an award. It’s always nice to get recognition as a coach.”
Several members of the team voiced their support for the coach and said they thought it was appropriate that he would earn recognition for his work with the team this season.
“This was his third year, and the season improved dramatically with each game,” Talaat said. “I would vote for him for sure. I have a lot of respect for him.”
Ehrlich said Ainscough’s teaching techniques went a long way in improving a team that struggled out of the gate to a 2-8 record but improved to 8-10-1 overall by going 6-2-1 in their final nine regular season games.
“He did a good job. He offered some words of advice and made sure we went out every game and gave it our best shot,” he said.
