The varsity boys soccer team competed against the Norfolk Panthers for their first game of the season on Thursday night.

In the “thunder dome” locker room before the game, the seniors had the opportunity to sign their name and number, following the tradition held for seniors each year, before their first game.

Even though the game ended in a loss for the Bolts, senior goalkeeper Mason Miller believed it was a good first game to build off of.

“A main goal we have for the season is to focus on controlling what we can control, our attitude and effort, as well as playing as a team,” Miller said.

Miller is looking forward to seeing what this season will hold for the team and how they will grow each game.

“I’m most looking forward to the growth of the team as a whole,” Miller said. “A lot of the guys have been on varsity for a while, so with a good team, I think we will play really well together this season.”

During his last season at Pius X, senior Damien Rodriguez is most looking forward to working with his teammates.

“Preparing for this season, we looked at what we needed to improve on the most and executed that during practices,” Rodriguez said.

Senior Kyler Schell has been playing soccer since he was young and is looking forward to his senior year.

“As a senior on the team, it is important to be a leader and be there for your teammates, especially to help the underclassmen,” Schell said.

As a team, Rodriguez said they did not let the score affect them and they continued to play their hardest.

“We have a good group of kids this year and I think that we will have a good chance to make it far this season,” Rodriguez said.