On Friday, Feb. 10, Varsity Boys Soccer lost 2-1 to Homestead High School. HHS quickly secured a goal near the beginning of the game, but the Matadors responded with a goal of their own later in the first half, tying the score at 1-1. In the second half, HHS regained its lead by scoring another goal, closing out the game with a final score of 2-1.
Assistant Coach Brandon Gessner finds that the end of the game was one of the most important moments for the team. Although MVHS was down 2-1, it had another opportunity to score with only a few minutes left on the clock. However, HHS kept control of the ball until the game ended.
“We were putting them under a pretty good amount of pressure,” Gessner said. “And we got real close: we managed to get a shot on target, just sadly not enough to get the ball past the keeper.”
Gessner mentions that HHS was panicking near the end of the game. Junior and striker Royce Tse had a similar assessment, attributing the pressure to the fact that the score was so close.
“It’s just so deadly for other teams because when it’s a score like 2-1, whoever scores the next goal is definitely going to win,” Tse said. “It’s really high tension because it either puts us back in the game to try and even go for a win or play for a tie. Or if Homestead scores that next goal to make it 3-1, they shut us out.”
Both Tse and Gessner believe that the team performed well during the game. Specifically, Tse highlights the team’s communication skills and emphasizes his appreciation for its chemistry.
“The way I see it, you don’t need the best players in the world to be the best team, you just need to have really good coordination,” Tse said. “You can have the best three attacking players in the world, but those three players are going to make different types of runs. They’re going to cut in or check in or out from different positions. But if you have a lot of teammates, even though they may not be as fast or they may not dribble as well, you know where to play them the ball.”
