The middle school soccer teams traveled to Jeju to compete in the KISAC (Korean International School Activities Conference) tournament. The Jets matched up against St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju (SJAJ), Korea International School Jeju (KISJ), Branksome Hall Asia (BHA), North London Collegiate School London (NLCS), Fayston Preparatory School (FPS) and Busan Foreign School (BFS) on Oct.18 and 19. The girls’ teams finished with two silver medals while the boys ended the trip with 5th. 

The girls’ junior varsity finished second in their division. Although the game served as the debut for six of the players, they persevered. They did not expect to advance to the finals but pulled off a victory against SJAJ in the semis with less than one minute to go. “I gave a cross to Gaby and she kicked the ball. Although the goalie did save it, she stepped inside the goal line so we were able to win 1 to 0 and go to the finals,” sixth grader Tracy Kim said. 

Unfortunately, in the finals against NLCS, the girls suffered a 5 to 0 loss. “Even though we lost, I was still happy that we got second. We also lost by a smaller point gap compared to when we played them on Day 1,” striker Emily Woo in seventh grade said. 

Rookie Tracy Kim scored four of the five goals and was imperative for the team’s success. “I play with the boys often so I think it helped me get stronger in shooting. I got better at intercepting the ball and it helped me get the chance to shoot,” Kim said.

The varsity girls finished both preliminary rounds on top and beat SJA 4 to 1 and KISJ 3 to 0 with ease. “We did really well. We improved a lot since the first game. Our communication improved over the day,” striker Luisa Silva said. 

Next, they faced their long-time rival BFS and clinched the victory (2:0) in the championship qualifier. “Because we knew that they are really, really strong physically and that their ability to play soccer is high, we needed to work hard and try to pass more. But Ann and Tina [Christina] shot in the second half so we were able to win,” captain Elly Song said. 

With high anticipation, they entered the final match against NLCS but faced defeat (4:1). “We got a free kick, and it was pretty far away. It was direct and I got the chance to take the free kick. I kicked it and it went over the NLCS defenders and I scored,” seventh-grader Ann Oh said. 

After a difficult match, everyone broke into tears. ”All of our players were hurt but they played. Elly, our captain got hurt in the finals and I, along with other players, were injured before the game so it was really hard for us to play,” Oh said. 

Both the boys’ A and B teams ended the tournament in fifth place. Despite the extreme weather conditions, they gave their best and brought bittersweet results. “My favorite part was when we won BHA 8-4 because we were able to score a lot,” said captain Charlie Park in 8th grade.

The A team seized three victories and three losses. Their final game went to overtime and eventually to the penalty kicks. “We went up 2-0 within the first two minutes. But we ended up tying that game 3-3 into extra time and a penalty shootout. In the penalty shootout, we had three successful spot kicks from DIS, so we won that and finished fifth overall,” said Mr. Gall, the boys’ coach.

Despite the hardships, the B team also finished fifth. While SJAJ provided an indoor shelter for the girls, the boys stood drenched in the rain without cover. “It practically rained all day. Both the rain and the wind were really strong. I couldn’t really open my eyes, neither could our players. People kept falling down and it was concerning,” junior Brian Hyun said. 

“We’re building a program to show good football, and the girls learn how to play a different style of football. I just want to tell the girls, keep practicing, keep working hard as you’ve been doing. I’m super positive about it. And I’m super glad to be here and super glad to be able to be their coach,” said Mr. Faille. Following their success and KISAC, the athletes vie for the SKAIS trophy at Busan on Nov. 12 for the final tournament.

Gallery • 11 Photos

Annie Cho

Ann Oh in 7th grade shoots the ball into the net. Her shot gives the DIS A team a 2-0 victory against BFS in the semi-finals.