The Chelsea High School boys’ soccer team started off their 2023 season with a bang. The Hornets went 3-0 and won the Gold Division of the Lakeshore Shootout Tournament.

Game one on Friday saw the Hornets earn a hard fought 2-1 victory over John Carroll, with freshman Luke Miller scoring the first goal and assisting senior striker Andrew Teixeira on the second. 

A massive performance by junior goalkeeper Brock Marlow helped the Hornets shut out Bob Jones and notch a 2-0 win after late goals from freshman duo Parker Dean and Luke Miller. 

Chelsea was dominant in game three against James Clemens. Juniors Grant Saether and Kaleb Bass both netted their first goals of 2023 and a late free kick from Luke Miller saw him score three goals in as many games and gave Chelsea maximum tournament points from the game. 

Fort Payne beating Homewood kept the Patriots from overtaking Chelsea in the tournament, meaning the Hornets won the Lakeshore Shootout for the first time in school history. 

The tournament win made both Coach Lee Miller and senior captain Isaac Tindall proud, and set Chelsea off on the right foot on their path to have a successful season. 

“I was very pleased with our performance and how we all collectively played together,” said Tindall. “The tournament really showed how we can play as a team and how good we are.”

Miller shared similar thoughts, saying, “A specific tactic we implemented was to try to overload either the left or right side using our outside backs. We did get the results we were expecting.  We won all three games and used the overloads effectively.”

Miller and Tindall both also expressed their thoughts on the team moving forward in the season, both how the team can succeed and how they need to improve.

“I think that since we won the tournament, it gives the whole team more confidence,” said Tindall. “This win shows other teams and ourselves how good we can be and be a real threat to the other teams in our area.”

“Our biggest strength on the weekend is that we have dynamic playmakers that a lot of good teams lack,” said Miller. “That seems to be the difference between us and other teams. Our biggest weakness is that we are giving the ball away too easily. Sometimes it is an overconfidence in our ability and other times it is a lack of concentration.”

The Hornets are looking to continue their winning streak as they now are playing in the Melrose Cup, a tournament they host and a tournament they won in 2022. A repeat of this feat could see them go into their game against 2022 6A state runner ups Pelham with a 6-0 record.