Preview: Boys soccer takes on Richfield

The eighth seeded Royals start their section journey tonight against ninth seeded Richfield High School.

Richfield has had their fair share of struggles this year in the Metro West conference having an overall record of 2-9-1. Richfield also lost all of their conference games this season. They’re known for being a physical team that gets a little too chippy at times.

Sam Eklund, senior goaltender, expects the team to keep their heads on straight and not give into Richfield’s game.

“Richfield’s coach and athletic director reached out to our coach and told him they have had a history of fights this season,” Eklund said. “As a team we need to keep our heads on straight and just focus on beating them.”

Ben Paschke, junior defenseman, believes the backline and especially himself needs to play physical with this team.

“I don’t think we’ll have a problem dealing with Richfield,” Paschke said. “I can play physical with any team in the state. I trust me and my backline to hold strong against them. We can’t shy away from them.”

Zach Caouette, junior midfielder, is in the mindset of winning at all costs.

“My mindset is plain and simple and that is to win and get on to the next round,” Caouette said. “We need to play physical while not getting injured. I’m extremely excited because this will be my third year and I just want to move on.”

The Royals are as prepared as ever. Yet another year in the Lake Conference had them seeing some serious competition. Jake Rosenblum, senior, believes the team benefited from the level of competition.

“Playing in the Lake Conference actually has been extremely beneficial even though we haven’t produced wins,” Rosenblum said. “We are playing some of the hardest teams out there. There’s really no better preparation.”

Last year, the Royals went 1-1 in their section campaign. They look to build on that tonight with the season on the line.