Lincoln boys soccer team dropped from being playoff contenders last year to a team with a losing record of 6-7-1. However, the soccer team had an outstanding defense that was ranked by the league as best in the city.

“By not having our forwards here, we just couldn’t score like we used to,” sophomore goalkeeper Jose Navarette added.

Eleven seniors graduated from last year’s team, eight of them were starters. This year, the team consisted of mostly sophomores and juniors.

“The team was made up with desire and heart,” head coach Alex Mendieta said.

Navarette is one of the most valuable players on the soccer team. The starting halfbacks, junior Nicholas King and sophomore Brandon King are brothers that have been playing since they were in 4th and 5th grade.

“We’re always trying to be better than each other,” B. King said.

Navarette and the Kings are the core of team’s defensive success. B. King feels the soccer team has a better chance of making the playoffs next year because they will know each other better than this year. Mendieta is still looking for some striking forwards for next season to give what is needed for the team, and he also hopes that the current players would improve over the summer.

“I predict that we will be a championship-caliber team if we had the forwards needed to score the goals,” Mendieta said.