The Matadors lost the match 1-2.
The Matadors faced off against the Santa Teresa High School Saints on Dec. 12 at home. The team had not practiced on Thursday because the campus was closed due to the bomb threat.
“It may have taken away the intensity that we usually have during practice,” co-captain midfielder senior Baris Demirlioglu said. “Because we didn’t have practice, we might not have been as serious as we needed to be during the game. But we definitely picked that up during the game.”
Santa Teresa High School defender Marco Villanueva scored the first goal of the game with a header past goalie junior Kushal Pradhan in the 43rd minute. In the three minutes of stoppage time, the Matadors were able to push the ball into the Saints’ box and MVHS sophomore Dmitry Gutnik was able to put the ball away. (Stoppage time is added due to breaks for substitutes or injuries because the soccer game clock does not stop.) With the score tied, and less than a minute left, the game seemed to come to an end, but the Saints made one last attempt. Within less than a minute of game time, the Saints put in another goal as the Matadors looked on in disappointment.
“I think we showed our true character today, down 1-0 with a couple minutes left,” midfielder senior Jacob Feit said. “We fought hard for it and we just got unlucky at the end.”
Before the game, the referee called the teams to both sides of the midfield for a moment of silence for the casualties in Connecticut.
The game started with STHS pushing the ball into the Monta Vista defense. They attempted their first crack at goal in the fifth minute. Many players were elbowing and pushing each other to get to the ball, forcing the referee to give players yellow cards and many fouls. Both teams had stretches of long possessions as well as stretches of poor passing and intercepted passes.
In the 27th minute, MVHS was close to scoring as they brought the ball within 20 feet of the goal, but were unable to get a shot off; the STHS defense forced the Matadors to turn the ball over.
Later, around the 30 minute mark, Feit took a shot on goal, which was saved by the STHS keeper. It was a fastbreak type opportunity; as the Saints were unable to score, the Matadors sprinted back on offense, but Feit could not finish the run. A similar situation occurred at the 38th minute mark and Feit was not able to put it in the back of the net.The halftime score remained 0-0.
In the 42nd minute, STHS junior midfielder Austin Montalvo received a yellow card, and had to be substituted out immediately. (According to the high school rulebook, if a player receives one yellow card, he or she must be replaced immediately, but can re-enter the game at any point. If they receive a red card, the team will have one less player for the duration of the match.) Within the next minute, Villanueva was able to head a ball in.
In the 65th minute, sophomore midfielder Marco Schwiebert got a scoring opportunity up top. Many of the MVHS fans looked and began to cheer as they thought the ball had gone into the goal, when in fact, it had missed the top of the crossbar and landed on the top of the net.
“[We need to] close out games. I mean, five minutes left, it’s more mental than anything else,” Feit said. “[We] just have to get that mentality that [we] are not going to give up that goal.”
The remaining two goals of the game were scored in the 3 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the second half. The Matadors crossed the ball into the goal and were within 10 feet of the net, but the STHS defenders blocked the ball and cleared it out of bounds, forcing an MVHS throw-in. The Matadors looked disappointed, but they were able to get another cross into the air, and Gutnik, on the far end of the goal, flicked the ball into the top corner of the net. After that, the Matadors played defense, but STHS senior midfielder Ivan Ramiez was fouled and STHS was awarded a free kick. The Saints floated the ball into the box and they were able to score in a matter of seconds after allowing the Matadors to tie the game.
Sophomore Brad Ohadi was not present with the Matadors when they shook hands with the opposing players and referees. He was also not present for the team cool down, stretching or team meeting after the game.
“I told them to keep their head up,” head coach Pooya Hajjarian said after the game. “Be proud of yourselves. You did well. It happens.”
The Matadors finished their preseason on a 4-3-1 record. Their first regular season home game is on Jan. 7, 2013 against Palo Alto High School.
