The grass smells nice and freshly cut. Children laugh and scream, kicking a ball back and forth. Angry PGs scare everyone, not with their specific cluster skill, but with their general size and athletic ability. Seniors own the fields, whether cut from Varsity soccer or just starting with cluster, they are the real veterans, the leaders on the terrain. Uppers and Lowers are learning the ropes, seeing the spirit and intensity that is Cluster Soccer For those of you who have not heard, Cluster Soccer is a fun intramural game of soccer for which people from every cluster gather four times a week to compete against each other. This description however lacks some fundamental information about Cluster Soccer. Cluster Soccer embodies the spirit of this school and its clusters. To play under the lights for that final game is any cluster soccer player’s dream. Some may call cluster soccer players lazy, as cluster sports are not generally considered the cream of the sports crop. This may ring true for Cluster basketball and ultimate; that I simply do not know. However, Cluster Soccer is the king of cluster sports, and the intensity shown in these games is phenomenal. Each cluster began preseason as one whole team, and only since last Monday were the original teams split up into eight different teams. There is one main team for each cluster, and three “scrub” teams as they are better known, made up of a motley crew of players, from multiple clusters for some of the teams. Since the teams were split up, the real season has begun. The teams are as follows: FLG (Flagstaff), WQS (West Quad South), WQN (West Quad North), ABB (Abbot), PKN (Pine Knoll), FLX (Flag Remix), WQD (West Quad), and ABC (Abbot Scrubs). The first three games were FLG vs. WQD, PKN vs. WQS, and FLX vs. ABB. Each game was played on full throttle, with kids throwing themselves at each other, booting the ball all over the place, and generally having a great time. One of the best parts about Cluster Soccer is the lack of regard for the rules. It is common to hear a player shout “Hey, handball!” and a referee to yell back “Next time it’s a free kick, don’t do it again.” This allows for an uninterrupted flow of the game and plenty of back and forth action. Some of Cluster Soccer’s most popular items are the signature Cluster jerseys. Each jersey has the team’s initials on the front, and self-designed name back. Blaine makes them for each player, and they always vary greatly in wit and content. Some players simply put their names in the back, while others have clever, and sometimes not so clever, plays on words on the back. Sometimes teams as a whole have jersey schemes that will spell out words, or sometimes they’ll have a common theme. This year, for example, the FLG boys from Foxcroft are collaborating on their jerseys. Sadly, the games on Tuesday were rained out; therefore there are no second round scores to report. However, if you took the time to read this, you should think about coming out and supporting your cluster. If you have the time and the energy, the games start at 3:15.
