Since last year’s season, the boys varsity soccer team has had a key goal in mind: changing the “seniority” mindset, Striker Luke Gough ‘26 said. 

“The team dynamic has really improved from last year,” Gough said. “At the beginning of the season, we decided that it was more important to make everyone on the team feel valued than to have the seniors eat first during the pasta parties. That change has helped the team grow closer together and to trust each other more on the field.”

Team bonding often happens outside of practice at pasta parties, hanging out on weekends, and smaller moments like driving players to and from practices, Gough said. 

“It really happens in the moments where we can get to know each other a little better and to understand what makes each person on our team who they are,” Gough said. “As with any team, there are a lot of personalities and different kinds of people, so we’ve had a little trouble managing some of the conflicts, but as the season has gone on, we’ve been doing much better.”

In addition to successes in the team dynamic, the team had other significant accomplishments during the season, finishing the regular season with a record of 17-4-2 before moving into Regionals. 

“We are scoring more goals and [are] able to generate a better attack,” Varsity head coach Paul Labbato said. “Playing such a difficult schedule is very demanding, [but we] have a very strong team [and] would like to make a deep run in the State playoffs.”

Notably, the team achieved a 3-0 victory at Bennett Field against Hinsdale Central in the Oct. 7 Silver Brick game, which is named after the physical brick passed down to the winner of the annual LT vs. Hinsdale Central game. 2022 was the last year in which the team won this rivalry game. 

“In my view, the team is more ambitious [than last year],” Center Back Ari Chen ‘27 said. “We have picked up more good wins early [on]. Having good wins on our resume has given us the confidence to compete with any team. That being said, there were wins and ties where we did not play our best, and we hope to eliminate performances like that by the time playoffs come around. I just want to win as many games as possible as a team.”

Chen has played soccer for 12 years, starting casually with American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) and later playing travel soccer at United, LTSC, and the La Grange Celtics. He has continued to play with La Grange Celtics since eighth grade and has played soccer all three years at LT.

“This season has been a strong campaign so far,” Chen said. “Our coach always schedules a lot of good opponents, [so] we have certainly had plenty of challenges so far. Some challenges this season are that we have come out flat in some games, and this has caused us to go down early in games, forcing us to come back, or rely on some clutch plays from our players. Additionally, we are yet to win a penalty shootout, and we look to clean that up before playoffs.”

Gough has played soccer for 14 years. Throughout his four years at LT, he’s been on freshman A, sophomore A, and varsity for his junior and senior years. Outside of school, he has played for a variety of clubs, including LTSC, OBSC, Eclipse, Chicago Magic, and Sockers. Next year, he will play for Chicago Inter.

“I hope that we can win the state championship,” Gough said. “We have the quality and grit to beat any team in the state. It’s just a matter of how we perform in the playoffs. 

The Boys Soccer team will compete next at IHSA Sectionals on Oct. 28.