COVID-19 has postponed and canceled many sports-related events such as the 2020 Olympic Games, the NCAA basketball tournament and MLB spring training. Its impact also hits home to many Xavier athletes, especially those preparing for their upcoming spring seasons.

As of right now, the Xavier boys’ soccer season is currently on hold and there is no certainty of the season being able to occur. Junior Arnold Mutasingwa says that it has been an adjustment, to say the least.

“Those of us who stayed home during spring break were expected to start doing two-a-day practices last week, but now all of us are going to have to wait until at the earliest mid-April to start practicing together,” Mutasingwa said. “At this moment in time, we don’t know how long our season is going to be. We might even just skip the regular season and go right to substate.”

Even though the team is currently unable to have official practices, Mutasingwa is still working on his skills to be ready to go if they are able to play this season.

“I’ve been going to a park to shoot on my own,” Mutasingwa said. “I have also been doing things like juggling and dribbling as well as running on the treadmill at home.”

Last year, the team fell short during the state championship game to Lewis Central by a score of 0-1. This year, Mutasingwa has high hopes for this season and believes the team can redeem themselves.

“Even if the season does not last very long, we hope that we can win the state tournament,” Mutasingwa said.

Having the season be postponed has been especially hard for the seniors. Senior Tyler Zogg commented that this is a big change and everyone is learning to adjust.

“This break is certainly going to make it harder to get back into the swing of things,” Zogg said. “However, we can all work on our own and hopefully still salvage the season.”

Even if his time playing at Xavier comes to an end, Zogg still has had amazing memories to take with him when he leaves.

“My favorite part of playing soccer at Xavier has definitely been bonding with the coaches and all my teammates,” Zogg said. “No matter what, we always come together and work to win the game.”

Regardless of what comes next with the coronavirus, the Xavier boys’ soccer team will never stop doing what they love.