The Jets high school boys’ soccer team flew to Jeju for a two-day KISAC tournament on Apr. 16. Tension and pollution filled the air as the novice squad prepared to battle against the all-mighty Jeju schools. Nerves did not prevent them from powerful performances – they battled with grit through all the match-ups.

Varsity played three robin-round games on the first day of the tourney. The gap in experience between Jeju and Daegu appeared indomitable. The Island teams, with months of experience on the big pitch, intimidated the Jets, with the only one practice of 11 vs 11 at DMHS-friendly, just two weeks prior.

“Obviously, we didn’t have that many wins. Playing in a big field was an entirely new experience compared to the practice environment we were in and a lot of players from Jeju and FPS were really good. I think our team needed a lot more training, but I was still proud of us for keeping up with bigger schools with better practice facilities,” said Colin Ji, striker/center-back.

Regardless of the setbacks, they fought through with their advantage: energy. Despite entering the competition with the bare minimum number of subs, DIS hounded the opponents with sole intensity. The interval training earlier in the season paid off as it gave them an edge over others.

“I think that (the interval training) was the change from last season, and it did help with stamina and being physical,” said Robert Cho, winger/midfielder.

Scoring two goals, the boys ended their first day with a record of 1 win and 2 losses, which means they fell short of the winners’ bracket. Nevertheless, they soldiered through. Their disappointment fueled them to play with greater enthusiasm in the losers’ league.

The second day began with a problematic kick-off. The air quality index (AQI) indicated “extremely unhealthy” at about 300 degrees AQI, and the athletic board nearly terminated the entire tournament. Fortunately, the poor air quality only resulted in a short delay, and soon enough the tournament proceeded. Previously this season, pollution kept the boys indoors so this scenario felt familiar.

Two more matches awaited them to determine the final seeding. Although they spared no effort, they finished at the bottom: one loss, one draw.

In the end, junior Aaron Shin earned the KISAC all-tournament medal as the sole representative of the Jets. “I felt proud when I got the all-star medal. It was definitely a boost of motivation to perform better at the SKAC tournament,” said Aaron, midfielder. Now, with all the knowledge attained through KISAC, they keep the ball rolling for the SKAC 7s finals in Busan on May 23rd.