The boys’ soccer team took three hard losses in a tough, three-game week. Their last loss, to Denison, was 0-7.

Atlantic has never beaten Denison in soccer, which adds to the challenge for goal Kyle Redinbaugh.

Redinbaugh said the “first half we played pretty good and then we just fell apart in the second half.” He also said that the Trojan team “usually plays best in the first half.” The team had their head up for the first 40 minutes, holding Denison to only one score.

One of the biggest fears for a goalie is one-on-ones and Redinbaugh said the biggest problem was we “had a lot of one-on-one (goalie vs. a forward) and I can only stop about 50 percent of those.” He said Denison was sending the ball over the top of the Trojan defenders, so it was always “right in my face.”

Redinbaugh has been involved in soccer since he was little, first grade. There his mom was the coach. He said “My mom didn’t know a lot back then, but she knew enough for us to all have fun.” He continued to play because “soccer was just more fun, all my friends did it.”

Soccer is a mental sport, explained Redinbaugh. Players have to know what they’re going to do before they get the ball. “You can’t do anything, without everybody,” Redinbaugh said.

This sport wouldn’t be here without a coach, and the current soccer coach is Justin Williams. Redinbaugh said, “The thing I like about Coach is that he sticks up for us when something bad happens.”

“The biggest thing after the other team scores is I have to figure out what I have to do better next time,” Redinbaugh said. “It’s just like in life, when you make a mistake, you have to figure out what you did wrong and fix it.” 

Redinbaugh wants the underclassman players to understand the importance of effort. “Make sure you work hard. If you want to get any better, you have to work hard.”