Sports
Royal Oak Soccer Ready To Celebrate Senior Night
Seniors will be honored prior to regular season finale on Thursday night at home against Troy.
Senior night will be a big one for the Royal Oak High School varsity boys soccer team.
The Ravens have 10 seniors on the team this year and that class will be recognized, along with their parents, prior to the regular season finale on Thursday night against Troy at 6:45 p.m.
All three captains – Blaine Anderson, Luke Miller and Eric White – are seniors and have helped make it a smooth transition for first year head coach Anna Lukezich.
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“It was a big change for them,” Lukezich said. “I expected a lot out of them to help reform the team. They’ve had a lot of turnover with coaches, and didn’t really know what to expect, they really stepped up and brought the team together.”
Royal Oak really struggled in 2010 and finished with an overall record of 2-13-4. This year the Ravens were much more competitive against the top teams in the Oakland Activities Association White and finished with a 4-9-4 record.
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Highlights included a 2-1 win over Andover at the start of September and a 1-0 win in their second meeting against Berkley.
“All the games have been a good learning experience,” Lukezich said. “We are really building a solid foundation. There has been a pretty big difference from our first scrimmage to now. We are really playing well together and playing with a great attitude.”
Lukezich is optimistic that attitude will carry over to the district playoffs next week where Royal Oak will host Warren Mott in the first round. The game will be at 6:30 on Tuesday.
If the Ravens can get past the opening round, they are very familiar with the rest of their district that includes four other teams - Groves, Harrison, Berkley, Farmington - from the OAA.
A win or two in the playoffs would be huge for the program.
“This is what’s going to matter, the playoffs and district games, this is what you prepare for,” Lukezhich said. “You don’t want to peak too early, do really great at the beginning of the season and have nothing at the end. We’ve really come a long way and I like where we are at.”
