The Hawk soccer season is in full swing with five games remaining.

At the beginning of the season, the team of 13 boys had the coach worried about their numbers.

Coach Matt Knutson feels lucky that all of the boys have stayed on the team attributing it to their conditioning.

“They are probably in the best shape of their lives right now, and they have grown in that aspect for sure,” Knutson said. “They’re also developing better overall soccer skills.”

The boys started the season lacking in experience.

“I have three juniors on the team that played when they were freshmen,” Knutson said. “That’s only one year of experience for those three boys, and as freshmen they were very green and just getting used to the pace of play at the high school level.”

Missing last season due to COVID-19 and losing valuable time and experience on the field hurt the team.

Knutson feels it has been a tough season for the team physically and mentally. “My main goal is to finish the season with everyone in one piece.”

“If the team can continue to endure the hardships, we will come out stronger at the end of the season and go into next season with a head of steam,” Knutson said.

Freshman Ethan Grawe scored in the game against Clear Creek Amana. “When something clicks like one of our schemes or kicks and offensive attacks, that’s really cool,” Grawe said.