Two days before Belmont High School kicked off boys soccer tryouts, a group of four to-be seniors piled into Yassin Abdelazim’s car for a heart-to-heart conversation.
He’d left the program for a year to play at what’s perceived to be a higher level, but classmates Itai Golani, Jaden Yan and Lawrence Tu welcomed the idea of Abdelazim coming back to complete the MIAA Division 1 state championship mission they set out to accomplish years ago.
“Honestly, props to them,” Abdelazim said. “I want to highlight that they were welcoming with my decisions and thoughtful. Me being able to come back, and them fostering it from their side, I really appreciate that from them.”
The Marauders (10-1-2) began with an unbeaten streak, and Abdelazim is a key reason why Belmont ranks No. 7 in the MIAA Division I power rankings. A center back known for his defensive prowess, passing ability, and vocal leadership, Abdelazim also scored the first goal of the year and accounted for all three goals, scoring two and adding an assist in a win over Weston last week.
“He’ll set the intensity,” Golani said. “He can get frustrated, but uses that to continue to play hard, and he brings up people as well. There’ve been many moments where he’s the last man back making a big tackle or challenge, getting the energy up, showing that we’re not scared to play and ready to win.”
For all Abdelazim brings to a program looking for a long postseason run, he spent last season on the sidelines.
After starting every game at center back for the Marauders as a sophomore, Abdelazim received an invitation to attend an MLS NEXT camp, a development league overseen by Major League Soccer. The coaches from Boston Bolts FC liked what they saw and invited him to join the roster.
Unlike other sports where the club season occurs outside of the normal high school calendar, MLS NEXT directly overlaps with the high school season.
“For some reason in boys soccer, [club programs] don’t let us have two and a half months of letting these kids represent their communities,” coach Chris Camille said. “To me, that’s indicative of a broken system.”
While Abdelazim remained at Belmont High School, he had to drop Marauders soccer.
“A bummer,” Golani said.
Abdelazim’s teammates remained supportive as he took on a more travel-intensive schedule. They saw him in the hallways every day but no longer at Harris Field in the afternoons and evenings.
Abdelazim spoke positively about his experience, but he missed playing with his friends. He played summer soccer for Belmont, and ultimately decided to come back for the “family” atmosphere he’d been missing. Even then, he briefly toiled through a transfer and reclassification to a prep school to improve his college recruiting prospects. He may do a postgraduate year next year, or just matriculate to and play in college.
“I didn’t know if I should think about myself more and be selfish and go do MLS for my [individual] career or think about there’s more to life and actually having connections with friends,” Abdelazim said.
He chose the latter. It’s the “family” atmosphere he missed last fall, things like spirited bus rides and team dinners.
“Our little group of seniors, it’s a dream come true to play side-by-side on the varsity team and have a shot,” Abdelazim said. “It’s not a job; this is my family and my friends. That’s the biggest thing I love about being on this team. No one here’s selfish, and they’re all thinking about each other… truly like a community.”
When Abdelazim indicated his intention to return, Camille canvassed the team. They met him with an overwhelmingly positive response.
“Everyone wanted to play with Yassin,” Camille said.