Both Soccer Teams Reach States for First Time But Fall

By Kevin Christie
November 18, 2022

The Commerce boys and girls soccer teams went to the state tournament and lost in the first rounds.  They got there by being placed 4th and 5th place in their conferences.

The boys’ soccer team regular season record was eight wins, eight losses and one tie, while the girls’ team had eight wins and nine losses.

This is the first time that both the boys and girls Commerce soccer teams are in the state tournament at the same time. The girls’ team was in the tournament for the first-time last year against West Springfield where they got eliminated in the first round, according to the Athletic Director Andrew Wilkins.

The commerce girls’ team has some of the best soccer players. With some players currently being top 10 or even 5 in the entire league.

Leala Samuel was the top scoring player with 63 goals, Xayra Serreno is top five in assists with 20, Dayana Serrano has 127 saves, and Jayleen Toledo has eight goals and 15 assists. Leala Samuel’s scoring made her first in her league and third in  Western Massachusetts.

The girls’ team lost the tournament in the preliminary round against Wilmington with a score of O-8 on November 4.

“I don’t expect my team to win if we do win though then that’ll be very big for not just the team but Commerce,” said Samuel before the tournament. “It’s just exciting that we are going to the tournament”

The top scoring players on the boys’ team was center Ulber Ortiz-Perez with nine goals in the season, and Johnathan Guitarrero with five points. The captain of the boys’ team is Jaydean Oquendo who has four recorded saves.

The most recent game that the boys’ soccer team had played was them losing the preliminary round of the tournament on November 5 against Greater New Bedford with a score of 1-7.