Kick off the Best Buddies Soccer season! 

Best Buddies Kicks off Soccer Season

By Sports Editor, Bella Derasmo (class of 2026)

The Special Olympics Best Buddies soccer season kicked off in September at Bishop O’Connell High School and has been a great season thus far. Led by head Coach Victor Nasr and assisted by the passionate members of the Best Buddies club, the event has been an outstanding success. 

The student leaders for each team consist of President Anna LeNard (‘26) and Vice President Megan Digges (‘26). Both have been dedicated members of Best Buddies Club since their freshman year. Joining them is Coach Juliet Adye (‘27). Juliet is a junior at O’Connell and brings a sense of motivation from the sidelines, as well as being a great passer in practice. They have led the soccer team into a season of inclusive and exciting soccer games. 

The team started practicing in early September, and the excitement has continued to build ever since. “We have very talented and strong assets on this team that are anxious to get this season started,”said Assistant Coach Digges at the second soccer practice of the season. 

The team includes two resilient and dedicated goalies, Jonathan Ingersol ‘26 and Davide Kushner ‘27. Davide refers to himself as a “lockdown goalie,” and has been on the team for two years. The team players are led by team Captain Alec Thompson ‘26. Alec is a strong asset to the team on defense. Eddie Sloan ‘27 is also a major contributor  on offense, being a leading scorer and averaging three goals per game during the 2024-2025 season. The team consists of many more players like Eddie and Alec, who play for the love of friendship and gamesmanship. 

The first two games kicked off Sept. 20 under the lights at St. Paul VI Catholic High school, where the Knights faced off against one of George Mason University teams in the Under the Lights tournament. The game started off close with Alec Thompson ‘26 getting the first goal for the Knights.In the end, however, the Knights got outscored and lost the first game of the night. 

But hope was not lost. After a pep talk from Coach Nasr and assistant Coach Anna LeNard, the Knights went into their second game of the night with a strong will to win. The Knights pulled ahead in the second game of the night against another George Mason team, racking up five goals and making the final score 5-1. The team also got a surprise visit from former Best Buddies president and now Ella Nasr ‘25. 

Ella Nasr, daughter of Coach Nasr, surprised the team at their first two games of the season cheering them on all the way through. The weekend of fun wasn’t over yet. The next day the Knights faced off against the Diamonds at Marymount University in Arlington. The Diamonds came onto the field with tons of energy, but the Knights fought hard and kept the game tight, claiming victory in the end. The game was filled with excitement and sportsmanship from both sides. 

At the tournament’s completion, the standout players for the Knights were Alex Thompson ‘26 and Kyle Salvatierra who is an O’Connell graduate(class of 2025). All the soccer players contributed, but some lead scorers were Davide Kushner ‘27, Eddie Sloan ‘27, and Alec Thompson ‘26. The fun didn’t stop at these games, they brought the momentum from these games back to O'Connell's home field. 

Thursday Oct. 2 was a day filled with excitement for all members of the team and club. The team would kick off an intramural scrimmage at O'Connell's home field right after school. The days leading up to Thursday were filled with anticipation. Chatter filled the hallways about the game and invites were passed around for everyone to come. 

The game kicked off at 3:15. The stands were filled to the brim with students who cheered loudly and made signs for players saying “Go Knights!”  The team ran through a tunnel formed by O'Connell's cheer team. The atmosphere was filled with joy and love that could be felt in every passing moment. 

The team was split into two. The Blue Team was led by Lily Ramchand ‘26, a long-time star player of O'Connell's team. Other players starting for the Blue Team were: Eddie Sloan ‘27, Kyle Salvatierra ‘25, Jonathan Ingersoll ‘26, Sam Hazzard ‘27, Flora Gutowski ‘27, and Anna LeNard ‘26, who decided to step into the player role for this game. The Gray Team consisted of Alec Thompson ‘26, Davide Kushner ‘27, Nino Navarra- Petrovic ‘29, Henry Hamilton (O’Connell alumnus ‘20), Catherine Ingersoll ‘26, and Megan Digges ‘26, a Best Buddies member who also stepped into the role of a player for this game. 

Coach Nasr officiated the match for the Knights, and it was a 45-minute game of back and forth soccer. Everyone was able to get in on the fun, but one player's hard work stood out. Eddie Sloan ‘27 was the MVP for scoring two goals for the Blue Team making the ending score of the game 2-0. 

The game ended with a celebration on both sides of the field. The Gray and Blue teams showed outstanding sportsmanship; there was joy all throughout the stadium. The past few weeks were only the beginning  of the Special Olympics season; the Knights are just getting started. All are welcome to come see these soccer stars in action at their future games!