When the Matadors faced Mountain View High School for the second time, they had a 1-6-4 league record to Mountain View’s 5-5-1. The last time they faced Mountain View, they lost 3-2 despite a brace from junior Radwan Hamwi. At halftime, the Matadors were down 2-0 and needed a tie to keep their CCS hopes alive. And after conceding another goal in the second half, their chances of escaping with a point became almost nonexistent. And yet, with three minutes left in Monta Vista’s Senior Night game on Feb. 27, Hamwi scored three times, earning Monta Vista a tie.
With under four minutes left on the scoreboard and Monta Vista down 3-0, Hamwi took a penalty kick. He scored.
At this time, with a few minutes remaining, the team was still disheartened. The Matadors explained that though they were excited to get on the board, they were so far behind that they didn’t think it would matter.
A minute later, Hamwi scored again. The crowd leapt up. The team started to get hopeful.
“After the second goal,” Hamwi said, “I thought, ‘we really have a chance here.'” Mountain View’s impenetrable defense kept the Matadors from scoring, but suddenly, in the last few minutes of the game, Monta Vista broke through, one goal at a time.
With only stoppage time remaining, the Matadors earned another penalty kick. Students, parents and principal April Scott stood up in the stands. The bleachers were packed and they were excited.
“Today’s game, I felt nervous,” senior Dima Gutnik said. “A lot of people, the lights. We had to end on a really good note.”
Hamwi shot from the left, slotting the ball under the keeper and into the bottom left pocket of the goal. 3-3.
The Matadors had earned their tie with only stoppage time remaining. The bleachers were filled with incredulous expletives as fans charged down the stairs and onto the field. Players hugged, high fived and dog piled before gathering equipment.
“We started out as a ragtag team, but we became really close friends,” junior Eric Pala said, and referenced a beach trip they hope to take in the future.
The players gathered in the middle of the upper field for a team talk. For most, it was their final one of the season, but for some, it was their final powwow at home of their MVHS career.
They excitedly discussed CCS chances and noted that they would wait to see a few more results, but that this tie propelled them to the tenth or twelfth ranking, likely securing them a spot in the playoffs.
Players started a “Radwan! Radwan!” chant after the game and during the team talk, but despite the cheers, Hamwi was adamant that this was not just his victory.
“Even if you didn’t play as much as you’d liked today, that’s alright,” Hamwi said to his teammates. “All season long, we all worked hard. You guys should be proud of yourselves.”
They nodded, then yelled ‘Radwan on three’, before screaming a final time and stepping off the field. The lights had turned off and the players walked toward the parking lot in darkness, planning where they were heading and, in honor of CCS, when they would shave sophomore Ori Lavi’s head.
Photos by Justin Kim
