Spencer Marocchini '16 voted 12th Player Award for Boys' Soccer

Spencer Marocchini '16 wanted to be part of this year's Wilbraham & Monson Academy Boys' Soccer team...as a manager.

He ended up being so much more.

Spencer was voted the team's 12^th Player Award, which he received Nov. 17 at the Athletic Awards Ceremony.

"The soccer season went great this year," Spencer said. "I came out in August and didn't know if I was going to manage the team or play. But after discussions with Coach (Gary) Cook and Coach (Sean) McGrath '07, we all thought it would be best if I went out for soccer my senior year and played, and it was by far one of the best decisions I've made here at the Academy. I started off playing minutes, and by the end of the season I had become a starter.

"It was an honor to receive the award. I didn't expect it. I'm thankful for that."

Spencer played Junior Varsity Soccer as a freshman before making the Varsity squad as a sophomore, where he saw limited minutes on the Class B tournament team. Instead of playing soccer his junior season, he focused on his lacrosse skills. He wanted to return to soccer his senior year, but not originally as a player.

"He said he wanted to manage, but Coach McGrath insisted that if he was going to be on the team it was going to be as a player," Coach Cook explained. "I'm so glad he came back. He's a hardworking kid who played a lot of positions for us. He had a couple big goals and assists. He would do anything he could to make us a better team and I think we would have been a little lost without him. I'm thrilled he came back."

It took some time for Spencer to get back into the soccer flow again. But he eventually did, helping the team go 6-1-2 in the final nine games as the Titans made a late run for the postseason. A big play against a Class A team helped Spencer feel like he was back to being a soccer player.

"There was a minute left in the Tabor game and the goalie rolled the ball out to one of the defenders," Spencer described. "I stole it, crossed it to Jakheem (Hunt '16) and he scored with 30 seconds left. We ended up winning the game 3-2."