The Summit boys soccer team is already off to a fantastic start to the 2022 season. The team is currently 4-1 with two come-from-behind wins. 

Senior captain Evan Reil says being able to come from behind and win is a testament to the team’s chemistry and mindset towards their larger goals. After making the playoffs for the first time in seven years last season, the Summit Tigers boys soccer team began the fall 2022 season with the ultimate goal of returning to the 4A state playoffs.

Reil and fellow senior captain Owen Gallo have instilled this goal in their teammates early on in the season, pushing the team to live up to the team’s standard for hard work. 

Reil — who serves as the centerpiece for the Tigers defensive unit — has grown up playing soccer in Summit County. He has lived in the same Summit Cove house his entire life and attended local schools all the way through.

As a child growing up in Summit County, Reil had a ton of options to choose from in terms of what sport to play. He could have chosen skiing, snowboarding, football or hockey but instead chose soccer as his primary sport in large part because of his parents.

“I started playing soccer when I was 8 or something,” Reil said. “My parents got me into it. My mom was big into soccer, she had college offers but she never went. They got me into soccer because it’s what they do.”

Reil says that he worked his way through the soccer leagues in Summit, playing with most of the 10 other seniors that now make up the 2022 Summit boys soccer team.

“Our club team was kind of one of the best club teams, we made it to the Premier League and were one of the first Summit Strikers teams to do that,” Reil said. “We have all kind of been growing up as one team and have had chemistry since we were 10 years old.”

Through the years, Reil has become a leader among his teammates, playing his first varsity season as a junior last year before entering his senior campaign this fall.

Since setting his eyes on making the varsity team as a freshman, Reil has gone the extra mile on and off the field. He says it’s taken some sacrifice.

“Staying here after school for a couple hours every day, losing a lot of time on the weekends with games and travel,” Reil said. “Just over the last four years trying to be a skillful player and bring the team up has led to me being named captain this year.” 

Reil’s dedication through the last few years has readily been on display this season. He consistently clears balls down the field, chases down loose balls and communicates with his teammates while out on the pitch.

With his teammates and head coach Jotwan Daniels, Reil has helped build a team with a “never give up” attitude. He credits fellow captain Gallo as being a key partner in keeping the team’s focus.

“We have been there to keep the team in the game and make sure everyone is keeping their heads up,” Reil said, talking about the team’s come-from-behind wins. “That mentality of just going week by week and keep pushing forward is making everyone really hyped to get wins in order to make the playoffs.”

Reil’s play on the pitch is backed by his performance in the classroom where he boasts a grade point average around 3.7 and was named to the all-state academic soccer team by the Colorado High School Activities Association at the end of last season. 

Reil hopes to close out his final high school soccer season with another Tigers playoff berth and a home playoff game at Tiger Field. After graduating this spring, Reil hopes to pursue his love for soccer at the collegiate level but is still working through the recruitment process at this time. 

The Summit boys soccer team will host the Palisade Bulldogs at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 10.