By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

For the last two seasons, the back of the Field boys soccer team’s warmup shirts have had the message “LEAVE A LEGACY” proudly printed on the back.

It serves as a daily reminder to the seniors that how they play and how they handle themselves has an impact not only on the current season, but an influence on future classes.

It serves to motivate that today’s daily behaviors and work ethic will still connect to the program long after they graduated.

A legacy like that can be tricky, though, because it really only works if an entire team is willing to make a commitment to make the sacrifice of putting the team above any individual.

And that commitment needs to be evident every single day.

During practices, throughout games, in the classrooms and when out in the community.

It can be hard to checkmark all the boxes, but not when you have a senior leader like Wyatt Rahe.

Coach Evan Young recognized it immediately last year when he joined the staff as an assistant coach. Now Young is the head coach and leans on Rahe, and his other talented seniors, to carry out the legacy message to make it more than just words on a shirt.

“Some of my first impressions of Wyatt when I joined the staff was his work ethic and his willingness to learn, while also being coachable,” said Young, whose team opens the 2025 season on Friday when they host Louisville.

“Wyatt demonstrates strong adaptability, embracing change, learning from challenges and leads with positivity and persistence,” Young added. “His leadership has consistently resulted in higher team productivity and team chemistry.”

As one would expect, the results have followed.

The Falcons posted a 16-3-2 overall record last year and were 8-0 in the Metro Athletic Conference last season, sharing the league title with Cloverleaf after the Colts upended the Falcons in the MAC Tournament title game.

Success followed Field into the postseason, advancing to the regional semifinals before losing to Poland Seminary, 3-2, in overtime.

Rahe, who plays center back, was the calm, skilled and knowledgeable presence on the back line of a defense that allowed just 11 goals for the entire season.

“When I was younger, our defense was not as connected as it is supposed to be, but there are always so many thoughts running through your head as a defender that things can get a little disconnected by nature,” Rahe said. “We have played together so much now that we have built that connection and that has led to us trusting each other and being calm.”

Rahe’s defensive efforts make him unlike most who play his position, but he further separates himself from his peers by his ability to impact the offense.

Rahe finished last season with 13 assists, which was a total that led the entire league.

A rare occurrence for a defender.

Not only is he comfortable making runs from his defensive position, combined with superior footskills and vision, but it has become his majestic throw-ins that have expanded the Falcons’ offensive attack.

Rahe will consistently throw 30 to 40 yards into the box, turning virtually every throw-in from the Falcons’ attacking third into a replicated corner kick. Nine of Rahe’s 13 assists last year came on one of his throw-ins.

“I think it was probably seventh grade, when I was playing for the middle school, when I really realized that my throws were going significantly farther than a lot of other people,” Rahe said. “My freshman year, Gavin Greene was our thrower, and he taught me a lot, too, and since my sophomore year, I have always taken them.

“Sometimes people will ask me how I can throw it that far, and I don’t really know how to answer that question, because I just do it,” Rahe said. “I use my entire body, and I am sure my flexibility helps a lot, because I bend my back and kind of use my spine straightening for power to slingshot the ball.”

The throws oftentimes leave the opposition scrambling as Rahe accurately lands the ball in dangerous areas in the box. Each time it leads to a goal, it still fills him with the same excitement.

“My first thought is always that I am so glad that someone found it,” Rahe said. “Once I put it into the air, the ball can be influenced by a lot of things. Wind, drag, my hand could have put a slight spin on it, so to watch the skill of my teammates in the box to find the ball, there is just a rush of happiness that I helped the team in that moment.”

Young has another way to describe it.

“Wyatt’s throw-ins are the best I have ever seen,” the first-year coach said.

That’s usually the way people talk when they are describing a legacy.

Rahe isn’t ready for that story to be completed yet, but his heart is telling him how the story may end.

“I think this team has something special, because we have built such a strong atmosphere. We are strong, and we are connected,” Rahe said. “We have that family aspect and it is not just incorporated into the game. It is around everything we do and that is my favorite part. We are not just competing with ourselves or for ourselves, we are working together as a team to have a special moment for all of us, not just one of us.”

That’s what a legacy is built on.

Rahe and his teammates have not left theirs yet, though, because they are not done yet.

Together, they are still living it.