Varsity boys soccer has early season struggles

After just one win in the preseason and losing the first two league matches, the varsity boys soccer team hopes for a turnaround

One win. In 12 league games the previous season, the varsity boys soccer team compiled a record of 1-10-1, with the victory coming in a hard-fought 1-0 win over Milpitas High School. This year, after being relegated to the SCVAL El Camino League along with Milpitas, the team’s struggles have continued with a single 4-0 victory coming against Woodside Priory out of the eight matches. The players’ frustrations are to be expected since in none of the games has the team been thoroughly outplayed. In the first two league matches, the team has lost both games by a goal — 2-3 against Fremont and then 0-1 against Homestead. However, in both games, the team had many chances to score, with most of the shots hitting the posts or crossbar. “They have a great attitude. It’s tough to keep your head up when you lose six games in a row, especially when you are playing well,” coach Mia Onodera said. “You know its one thing if you are getting killed and you really have no chance, but we’ve been in every single game, except one.”According to senior Nathan Burroughs, the team’s main problem seems to be an inability to finish their chances. Though he feels that the team can move the ball well passing-wise and create scoring chances, there seems to be issues finding that finishing touch. Captain senior Alex Onishi affirmed Burroughs’ comments, adding his thoughts on the 2-3 loss to Fremont. “It’s really difficult right now. Especially [against Fremont], we hit the post like 20 times in the first half, and then Fremont came and scored two [goals] in like a minute,” Onishi said. “They scored on the first two chances they had.” In practice, the cohesiveness of the team has been present with a good balance of focus and fun. During a shooting drill, when someone hit the post, senior Jeremy Dor jokingly remarked, “This is why we lost against Fremont, guys.” Unfortunately, the free-flowing practice environment is different from game situations, where the players put a lot more pressure on themselves and on each other and fail to find the necessary confidence to put the ball into the net. “We haven’t made CCS for quite a few years,” Onodera said. “We’ve always been a middle-of-the-road team, having some great talent as individuals. [This year] we have good talent, but as a team working well, we have a disappointing record.” Key returning players this season include captain senior Josh LeFevre, who led the team with 17 goals the previous season, centerback Onishi, midfielder senior Michael Kute and midfielder/striker junior Malek Bashti. A number of underclassmen such as freshman Will Major and sophomore Chris Koski have been given substantial opportunities on the field and are making many contributions. With 10 matches left in the season, the team hopes that they can turn their fortunes around, score a few more goals, and win a few games.{cc-by-nc-sa}