by Vema Maneno — with files from Yastelin Sanchez Turcios and Dasha Peraza Sandoval

The Patterson boys soccer team has been defending their City Championship from last year, and so far they have done so without a loss. The Clippers have started their season with seven wins, no losses, and one hard fought tie against City.

Last year the team had an incredible season but fell short in the Regional Final, losing in the final minutes to Poly. However, despite losing nine seniors last season, the team has picked up where they left off. 

“We have tried to build a culture of family and teamwork,” Coach Ober said. “The results usually follow once we have connected on a personal level with each other and built chemistry.”

Patterson is the most diverse school in Baltimore City Public Schools, and the soccer team is no different. The starting 11 players in the first game of the season had players representing seven different countries, including South Sudan, Honduras, El Salvador, United States, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania. 

When you have players from so many backgrounds and experiences, who speak different languages, it is a challenge to build communication and a team identity, but it is something Coach Ober loves. 

“The diversity of the team is truly beautiful,” he said. “Getting to know people from all over the world and seeing them connect and build friendships is far more valuable than anything we do on the field. Soccer is the most powerful sport to connect people and I see it year after year. It is their common language.”

The team has to put a lot of effort into preparing for the games.

“I try to build their confidence and help them learn their positioning. We work a lot with positioning drills so they can learn it easier. I also get them to operate as a team so that they can help each other.”

^{Photos: Vema Maneno, Mabondo Biribuza, Yastelin Sanchez Turcios, Dasha Peraza Sandoval, and Mr. Frederick}

Coach Ober believes that it’s important for his players to be successful both on the field and in the classroom.

“Every day we practice and we have study hall once a week. We watch films at times as well during study hall.”

Communication is also important for the team.

“The only errors we ever have are communication errors, like communicating with the coach when you are going to miss practice. Other than that we do not have many issues or errors.”, said Coach Ober.

Coach Ober shouted out the best players that did exceptionally well so far this season.

“Tim has scored the most for us so far most likely. Offensively, Daniel and Joseph have been doing a great job, and Joel, Victor, Yeyson, Martin, and Vema are doing great on defense. Everyone on the team plays an important role and helps the team win.”

On October 15, the Varsity team clinched back-to-back City Championships with a 3-2 double overtime win over Poly. After being down 2-0 with 15 minutes to go, the team rallied behind goals from Tiem Kuiy and Daniel Gutierrez to send the game into overtime. 

With only 31 seconds to go in double overtime (which would have ended the game in a tie and made Poly the champions), Daniel Gutierrez hit an incredible goal to end the game and win the title.

On Friday, October 25, the Clippers will face off against Bel Air at Patterson for the Regional Semi-Final playoff.  The game starts at 3:45 PM and is free to attend.