They may be Blue Devils but they played the role of underdog pretty well last season. The Kenmore West Boys Soccer team were expected to go down easily in the Class AA quarterfinals. They were the No. 7 seed from the weak NFL heading to Williamsville North to take on the No. 2 seed Spartans from the stronger ECIC I league. However, Ken-West didn’t back down from the challenge and upset the Spartans 3-1 to move onto the semifinals.
The win was a huge boost for the program and head coach Todd Marquart hopes the momentum will carry over to 2017.
“The victory over Williamsville North in the quarter finals was a great win that moved us into the Class AA semi-finals,” Marquart said. “We were the 7th seed and they were the 2nd seed. The win will be used as a reminder that hard work and commitment can pay off!”
Working hard and having a good attitude are the biggest lessons the Blue Devils took away from 2017.
“Positivity is the key,” senior Glenn Wirth said. “You can’t bring your team down because you will implode on yourself and lose.”
The win over Will North also came on the Spartans’ brand new turf field. In 2017, the Blue Devils get their own turf field.
The turf field at Kenmore West High School is part of the Ken-Ton School District’s Capitol Project. The surface also has baseball and softball diamonds. There is also a turf surface at Crosby Field that will have lines for soccer as well.
Marquart and the Blue Devils are beyond happy to open the new field.
“This year’s team is excited to make history for being the first team to compete on the beautiful artificial turf field at Ken West,” Marquart said.
Leading the Blue Devils this year are senior captains Wirth, Alex Fusani, and Keenan Kasperek.
According to Marquart, the trio are not only great soccer players, but also leaders.
“All 3 of these student-athletes are tremendous role models and all have great work ethics,” Marquart said.
Ken-West is also expecting big impacts from Johnny Thawng, Jeremy Walter, Val Mawi, Sang Chin, Jack Reilly, and Trey Wojnar.
The Blue Devils believe that if everyone buys in they can do great things in 2017.
“We have some good guys and skillful guys,” Fusani said. “If we keep heading down the right we’ll be real good this year.”