Varsity Girls Soccer lost to Milpitas High School in its fourth league game of the 2024-2025 season on Thursday, Jan. 16, with a score of 3-1. During the first half of the game, the Matadors scored a goal, shortly followed by two goals from the Milpitas Trojans, ending with a 2-1 score. During the second half, an offensive player from Milpitas got past the Matadors’ defense and goalie, securing another point. Despite attempts to strategize during the team’s half-time huddle, the numerous interceptions of the team’s passes to other players aided in the loss.
Additionally, the Matadors faced a major challenge in playing an offensive-heavy game with the Trojans who had a 4-2-4 position lineup, causing Head Coach Rick Gallo and Assistant Coach Steve Liu to draw players back to defense to handle the overloading of Trojans on the offensive line.
Rick Gallo believes the team occasionally missed out on opportunities to score such as during the second half. He recalls a moment when the Matadors created “a beautiful group of passes and movement of the ball,” but “didn’t capitalize on it.” However, he still maintains that the team’s performance was strong overall.
“The team played really well today,” Gallo said. “I like the energy they had. Some of our players were able to really just slow the other team down and Izzy, who was playing the defensive-mid position, matched up against a girl double her size. She was just tenacious about defending her and kind of locked her down. All season, they’ve been playing really, really well, and I’ve been very, very proud of them.”
Defensive midfielder and senior Maya Gallo, who helped assist a Trojan who injured their ankle off the field during the first half of the game, recalls the defining moment in the match.
“The player is actually one of my friends and one of my club teammates, and it was kind of like a natural instinct,” Gallo said. “I saw her go down and knowing her from my club team, I was like, ‘Oh my god. She’s down. Oh, well, she’s my teammate, but she’s on the other team, but it’s OK because I always want to help her.’”