Varsity Boys Soccer fell 4-1 to Fremont High School on Monday, Nov. 27, marking its first loss of the season. FHS scored two goals while the Matadors scored one in the first half — however, FHS scored two more goals during the second half due to the pressure that MVHS felt from their FHS’ press.
After the team’s first draw against Aragon High School, junior and center back Justin Chen claims that a lack of communication within the team was a major reason for its loss.
“I think our defense was really disconnected with our midfield,” Chen said. “And a lot of silly mistakes were made.”
Junior and striker Royce Tse agrees with Chen, saying that FHS’ defense was connected with the rest of its team while MVHS’ defense was not. Tse says that this is something that the team will need to work on for future games.
“I felt just a little bit disconnected,” Tse said. “We just need a bit more chemistry. I think what the opposing team did well was they had a good resource in the middle, and so that helped them to open up more chances.”
Sophomore and right back Erik Lewis adds that FHS placed a lot of pressure on the Matadors which gave FHS the upper hand throughout the game and allowed them to score their four goals.
“I think they were a really fast team and had a really high press,” Lewis said. “We didn’t know how to play against them in the beginning, but we adapted and came back but that wasn’t enough in the end. I don’t think I played very well because I was a little scared and I was intimidated [since] they’re a really strong team.”
Along with the team’s overall chemistry, Tse says that the team will also have to work on its offense. In particular, Tse believes that the team’s front three positions need to practice attacking more.
“I think as a team, we need to practice having our front three going and attacking the defense backline as well,” Tse said. “That way, the midfield knows how to defend to mitigate the attack before it actually gets to the backline. We’re taking too many risks with our team and it starts getting a little bit too close to our goal.”
