The soccer teams at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School are bringing the Cristo Rey Cup back home to Takoma Park, Maryland, for the fourth year in a row.
The four-peat is something that means a lot to the seniors on the guys and girls’ soccer teams at Don Bosco Cristo Rey.
“It was something really special for me,” said high school senior Martin Ferrufino.
He told WTOP that he felt sad walking off the field for the last time.
“I got a little emotional,” said Ferrufino. When asked if he had tears, the high school senior said, “just one.”
Like Ferrufino, fellow senior, Sophia Lopez won the Cristo Rey Cup, which is the largest athletic tournament among the Cristo Rey network of schools, every single year of her high school career.
“It felt amazing,” Lopez said.
When asked why her team was so successful, Lopez with tongue firmly in cheek, replied, “because of our talent.”
The girls team had a new assistant soccer coach this year, and McKayla Joaquim, believes she knows why the team is a quadruple champion.
“They just bring really positive, awesome energy that shows on the field, and they all believe in each other,” said Joaquim.
Just how dominant are the Lady Wolfpack? No team was able to score one goal on them during the tournament.
“In the finals, we won four to zero,” said Joaquim.
The school’s president, Mark Shriver, is thrilled that both teams won again this year. While he points to their achievements in the classroom, and at work. The students work one day a week, which helps to subsidize their tuition, along with grants and donations.
The school’s population is 90% Hispanic and 10% African American, and Shriver said the kids are inspiring.
“People ought to come out and see us, because the young people will inspire you,” said Shriver. “We all need hope, and they’re giving us hope every day.”
The example Shriver pointed to was the boy’s team’s freshman manager, who fell and broke his shin before the first game of the tournament.
After the team won, the first place they went was to the hospital to visit the freshman, so he could hold the cup.
“I don’t know about you, but when I went to high school, the seniors didn’t know I existed freshman year,” said Shriver. “That speaks to the type of kid we have here.”
Shiver smiled as he looked at a picture of the soccer team still in their kit, standing around their injured freshman manager as he held the cup.
“I’m more proud of that than I am of winning the cup again,” said Shriver.
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