Two losses, one tie and zero goals. The team dropped farther back in league standings after a loss to Palo Alto High School on Jan. 13. PAHS scored the first and only goal in the game after multiple drives in the second half, during which most of the action took place on the MVHS side.  MVHS lost the match with a score 0-1, resulting in a new league score of 0-1-2.

“It was rough,” defensive player junior Ayush Sangari said. “[We need to work on] playing more as a team and [communicating] better.”

The defense, for the most part, successfully contained the action to the sidelines, but PAHS created a hole in the MVHS defense after driving off several players. PAHS forward Michel-Ange Siaba, taking the opportunity, drove through and scored in the final 12 minutes of the game.

“His celebration was on point, I must say. He did a handspring into a frontflip — it was crazy,” senior Michael Ligier said.

Both teams were locked in the first half, with a score of 0-0 — the race to break the scoreless tie drove both teams back and forth. The MVHS defense halted PAHS’ attempts in the first half and much of the second, with goalkeepers senior Anirudh Srinivas and junior Atharva Rohatgi each making several close saves. While on defense, team captain senior Greg Moe was injured 31 minutes into the first half.

“I think we played better at Homestead [HS] and Los Gatos [HS],” Ligier said. “This game, we weren’t playing as hard as we could have.”

The game concluded minutes after the flood lights switched on, with a pair of close saves by Srinivas and several missed shots from the MVHS offense.

“We can do every single aspect of our game better,” head coach Patrick Lowney said. “I’ve seen us do it better — we’ve connected passes better, kept space better, kept our shape better, communicated better.”

Boys soccer will be playing its next home game against Santa Clara on Jan. 22 at 3:30pm.

Co-written with reporter Anushka Tyagi.