By Alok Ganguly
Staff Writer

He sweeps around a player on the opposing team and swipes the ball from underneath. That player is Derrick Naugler, a co-captain on the Westford Academy varsity soccer team, doubling as a defensive star.

“It started off pretty well, I think the team is looking good. [We are] probably going to have a pretty good season,” said Naugler.

He thinks the team is doing a very good job so far, as their record is 6-1-1, and will work well together during the rest of the season. A lot of the players are good friends with each other, and already know how to cooperate.

“We’re mostly friends, so I guess we just get along well and work well together. We have a pretty good defense too,” said Naugler.

Naugler himself has been playing soccer for as long as he can remember. He started at the age of six just because all of his friends were playing. This is Naugler’s third year on the varsity team, which is a feat not many other players can accomplish.

Currently he is playing on two teams, and is with a lot of his friends, which he is grateful for. He did say that he wasn’t absolutely amazing when he started, and that like a lot of other athletes, he needed to put a lot of time and effort into the sport. Because he has, he now has a lot more fun while playing the sport.

“It did take some work, and a lot of practice, but when I first started, it was just fun to practice,” said Naugler.

Naugler is dedicated to soccer, playing the sport all year long, but he doesn’t forget about the other important things in his life. He spends the rest of his free time that isn’t dedicated to soccer with his friends and doing schoolwork.

“He possesses exceptional technical and tactical skills.  He is a surgeon on the field – reading the game extremely well, anticipating and with poise and confidence makes his moves,” said Tony Dileo, the coach of the soccer team. “[He] has skills necessary to play other positions on the pitch and will find opportunities to play a more offensive role as the season matures.”

Being a dedicated soccer player, and a good student, Naugler has a lot of things to keep track of. He says planning is an important skill to have for someone who plans to do as many activities as he does.

“It just takes a little bit of planning. You have to have good time management because soccer takes up a lot of time, but I still have enough time for all of my schoolwork,” said Naugler.

Naugler is looking forward to the rest of the season, and believes that his team is very talented, much like himself, and can go on to win several more games.

His next appearance on the field will be Saturday, September 29 at 4 p.m. at home against Dracut High School.