The morning sun arises as the goalie dives through the air to block the black and white sphere hurtling toward him. At the last instant, his hands brush the ball away from the net and he hears the joyous cheers of his teammates from afar.

Unfortunately, this was not the scene that played out for the boys’ soccer team at the Clovis West tournament on Dec.30-31. Their day was marked by defeat as they competed against teams from across the valley.

The team returned home with a disappointing score of 0-3 after playing Lemoore (2-4), Madera (1-5) and Clovis West (0-7). Ben Westra, ?07, Caleb Thiesen, ?05, and Joshua Powell, ’05, scored goals.

Even though the team took some hard losses, most team members look at the results with a positive outlook.

“It’s good to play better teams because it shows you where you need to improve,” Tim Westra, team captain [’05], said.

The team from Clovis West proved to be the campus team’s greatest obstacle in their pursuit of a victory.

“They were really fast and they played tough,” Caleb Thiesen, ’05, said. “They are the best team in the top division, which is way better than us.”

Even though the team has been suffering this season, they have shown improvement from previous years.

“I think we have a better team this year; we just can’t put the ball in the net,” Westra said.

Every year the team makes little improvements that build upon previous experience gleaned from previous years. The soccer program started in the ?80s when 16 players, some parents and the former vice principal got together to begin a new soccer program.

“Next year we are losing are team captains Josh Powell and Tim Westra,” Matt Markarian, soccer coach, said. “I’m going to miss their work ethic and leadership when they leave next year; they really helped the team.”

The boys soccer season ended with an at home loss to Caruthers on Feb.11. For more information on spring sports go to www.thefeather.com and look under sports shorts.

Elisha Quintana