Local high school soccer team winning where it counts

FLORENCE, Ky. (WKRC) - The Boone County High School men's soccer team doesn't have the best record, but they're winning where it matters most. The team is made up of players from 14 different nations and they speak seven combined languages. "With as many guys from so many different places, trying to get everybody on the same page, same communication style has been our biggest challenge," says head coach Chris Norris. The team started their season with eight consecutive losses, but lately the players seem to have hit their stride with a three game winning streak. "At the beginning of the year we really didn't have that chemistry set yet, like we didn't know how each other played and there [were] those language barriers and things like that," says Nathan Rice a senior on the team. They've not only learned more about soccer, but they've learned some lessons about life. During Ramadan the Muslim players on the team continued to come to practice even as they were fasting. "They're pretty accepting of it. They try to help us a lot. Try not to drink around us or anything," says Abdi Jama, a senior on the team. At the beginning of the season many of the players didn't have rides to practice or gear to play with, but their teammates stepped in to make sure everyone who wants to play is able. "Having new cleats is a new experience for me. I never played with cleats," says senior Zacharia Salat who is from Somalia. "A lot of these guys come in, they don't know anybody, they don't speak the language, they're loaners walking down the halls in school and then we get them out here on the soccer team and they instantly become friends with all these guys because they have that one unifying activity that brings them together," says Norris. The team wanted desperately to beat rival Ryle High School Monday night, but they lost 0-8. The scoreboard might not always show it, but the team is winning where it counts.