Girls soccer: Matadors draw against Valley Christian HS 0-0

MVHS ties against Valley Christian HS in second preseason game

Anish Vasudevan
December 4, 2019

Anish Vasudevan
Senior Stuti Upadhyay defends against a VCHS player early in the first half.

After a 5-1 loss to Branham HS in its preseason opener, the MVHS varsity girls soccer team bounced back with a draw against Valley Christian HS (VCHS) on Dec. 2. 

According to senior team captain and center midfielder Jaimie Chan, the Matadors’ expectations heading into the game were low since VCHS is a private school and in a higher league, providing team members with more resources to create an overall stronger team. Chan explains that the team had an underdog mentality, which ultimately lead to their success.

“I think part of it was our mentality that we knew that we were coming from a lower position so we had to work super extra hard and that also caught them off guard,” Chan said. “That helped us because we were pushing really hard, and they were not ready for all we had to show.”

MVHS dominated the first half offensively with four shots on goal, including a close score by Chan which deflected off the crossbar and was narrowly saved by the VCHS keeper. Head coach Jose Vargas explains that the team’s strategy was to capitalize on holes in the VCHS defense, but remain conservative on the defensive side. Late in the second half, this conservative approach helped the team as they were able to counter the VCHS attack with several key saves by MVHS keeper Kira Israni.