The boys’ soccer team has gotten off to a nice start this season. After nine games, their overall record is 5-3-2, while going 5-1-1 in Metro league play. They’ve already far surpassed the number of wins they recorded last year.

“We’re off to a better start than last year,” said junior defender Cooper Sinai- Yunker.

The boys are led by captains Sean McMonigle and Danny Moy. They kicked off the season with a 3-0 loss at Issaquah, but some of the players hadn’t played before, and some key players weren’t eligible yet.

Since then, they have been for the most part, flawless. Their first league game of the year was against Franklin. The Wildcats took control of the game early, and crushed the Quakers 9-1 at Upper Genesee. After tying Ingraham and losing a non-league game against Samammish, they thumped rival Chief Sealth 7-0. Next, they dominated Cleveland for an 8-2 victory, followed by a 6-0 win over Rainier Beach.

Their next match came against league rival Nathan Hale, who came in undefeated in division play. The Raiders scored two first-half goals, and escaped with a 2-0 victory to take over first place, sending the Wildcats into second. West Seattle will have a second chance at the Raiders on April 28 at 3:30 at Memorial Stadium.

With more players turning out this year than in past years, the coach had to make a decision on whether to cut half of the players or make a junior varsity team. In the last few years, there hasn’t been a JV team, leading to many hopeful players being cut. New coach Jonathan Grammens changed that trend, and decided to invest in a JV team. Now, the younger players or those who don’t play much on varsity get a chance to play.

After a 1-7-1 record last year, the boys look ready to make a run for the Metro league playoffs as they did back in 2007.

Kyle MacDonald is a West Seattle High School journalism student and this article appears originally in the school newspaper, The Chinook.