LONG BEACH, CA- Preparing for the Moore League, Wilson Soccer program took a trip to NorCal to face off the CIF Division 1 North California champions and the CIF Division 1 Central section champions. Unfortunately, an accident prefacing the trip led to a star player being briefly hospitalized.

Losing both captains, Gavin Pool-Harris and Manny Moreno, before important games can be tough on a team; Pool-Harris being the captain and String 1 goalie for the varsity team makes him a crucial part of the team.  But after circumstances leading him to injury himself, it was up to the rest of the team to make up for the missing player.

Following this mishap, Moreno was faced with a serious injury as well.  Prior to crossing the street, he failed to remember to look both ways; with this, he was hit by a car (not fatally), leading him to be briefly hospitalized for a checkup.

Pool-Harris was just out for a week and only missed two games; he came back ready for season against Jordan on Dec.14. Pool-Harris was on the field like nothing happening, controlling the back line and coming out of his box with confidence. 

Moreno was out for a week, as the car accident wasn’t anything major. He fortunately only bruised a few fingers and lost a fingernail, but Moreno was able to get back onto the field after missing two games as well.

Christian Rangel, 11th grader in the Wave Pathway, had some words to say upon this incident: “Not having both captains did feel weird on the trip, we are still a united team without them but they will always bring new stuff to the table to help us.” 

The soccer team will be back on the field after Winter Break on January 11th, 2023.