On a sunny evening on August 27, at the Tregaron campus, WIS hosted its first home soccer game in three years. It’s official: a new era has dawned at the school. For the past two seasons, WIS soccer teams practiced and played away from home. Practices took place at the Field School, and “home” games took place twenty minutes north of Tregaron at the University of D.C.’s turf field.
Moreover, the construction of the past few years is finally complete, as the new building, Le Centre Brown (LCB), held its first classes on the first day of school. This year’s seniors will be the first class to play beside the architecturally impressive LCB building, paving the way for generations of Red Devils to come. Hence, it’s fitting that the Forza WIS event was an event to celebrate the hard work and dedication of the past and the new opportunities that the present provides the WIS community.
This event was headlined by two soccer games against the Field School. The first game featured the new lineup for this year’s Girls Varsity team, with appearances from seniors Carina Gonzalez, Anna Kumar, Sophie Pooley and Cate Taylor. The Boys Varsity game that occurred after featured seniors Nicholas Baunsgaard, Kyle Bell, Luca Cruz, Leandro Dos Santos, Brown Huffard, Filippo Mancini-Griffoli, Jakob Nielsen, Marco Puig-Peinado and Bramm Rubin, with Simeon Bayer sidelined due to a ligament tear and Martin Ferreira-Uribe absent. With the assistance of these senior-filled lineups, WIS won both games; the girls won 6-0, and the boys won 12-0.
Highlights of the game included Puig-Peinado’s beautifully placed free kick and the unforgettable moment when junior Sabine Crawford netted the first PVAC goal at WIS in three years. As soon as the ball sailed past the outstretched Field keeper, cheers of joy erupted from the crowd above the field. Behind the goal, WIS students of all ages formed die-hard supporter groups (ultras) similar to those found in Europe, which created a thumping atmosphere. For those not accustomed to the traditions of soccer matches, the energy that emanated from the terraces above the field made the event a special one.
The vibrant display of soccer on the field mirrored the colorful scenes off the field as well. Red was the color of the evening, with attendees encouraged to don the primary color for WIS. The celebration of past, present, and future graduates was a common theme on that night.
The return of WIS alumni saw WIS graduates re-enter the campus grounds to support their beloved institution as it saw the near completion of its sixtieth year as a school. While many alumni were walking around LCB and the entire campus, alumnus Oliver Steinglass played an important role in the event’s festivities. With the help of his company, Design FC, WIS students were able to create a unique jersey to be worn by both Varsity teams for this event. Every student had the opportunity to draw their ideal jersey, with the theme of ‘What makes WIS special for you?’ to guide them through their design process. Steinglass, a graduate of the Class of 2016, started the company Design FC, combining the arts and sports to allow children from underserved backgrounds to design their own soccer jerseys that could be worn by the children themselves. Creativity is an important skill for everybody to hone in on, and a word that WIS focuses on in every discipline; hence, collaborating with Steinglass to design special edition jerseys for this event made perfect sense.
The combination of a reunion of alumni, the gathering of faculty members, a place for families to reconnect, a soccer masterclass from both WIS teams and a sunny evening provided a wonderful opening of a new era at WIS.
By Carter Samuel
