Varsity Girls Soccer tied Lynbrook High School 1-1 on Thursday, Feb 13. LHS scored a goal in the first quarter only 10 minutes into the game. Despite this, Head Coach Rick Gallo states that MVHS gained frequent possession of the ball as the team settled from the senior night emotions. Gallo knew that due to senior night speeches, players had to regulate their emotions in order to optimize their strategy. 30 minutes into the first quarter, MVHS tied the score at 1-1 with a coordinated corner kick.
With both teams not keeping their offense open for long enough to score, the match quickly became a battle of attrition. Despite the frequent momentum shifts during the game, defender and sophomore Joyce Chou says their teamwork and high morale shined during the end of the game as they continued to break through Lynbrook’s defense multiple times. However, the LHS defenders caught up to MVHS offenders after they gained possession of the ball which made it harder for MVHS to score.
“There were some really good through balls and combinations I saw in the middle of the field while I was on the sideline,” Chou said. “We didn’t actually score those goals, but they were really impressive.”
MVHS’ mobility while persisting through torrential rain led them to perform passes in between opposing defenders and gain opportunities to score. Although the MVHS seniors provided necessary leadership and diverse skill sets, the freshman and sophomores also displayed efforts that showed the team’s bright future.
“I want to emphasize Emerinne Denina,” Chou said. “She’s a freshman and plays outside defense. I saw her doing body slams today, where she just knocks the defender off to gain possession of the ball and I’m really proud of her for doing that.”
Gallo states that the seniors were able to raise team morale due to the celebrations before the game. However, he also says that emotions running high can cloud judgement which would lower the strategic capability of the team and that. Gallo attempted to work around this through substitutions and continuous changes in strategy.
“The biggest momentum shift came about 30 minutes into the first half, when we as a team actually settled down and started playing our game,” Gallo said. “Up until that point, we were too unfocused as a team from all the senior festivities. But as soon as that happened, we started locking everything down, playing our game of soccer.”
For Gallo, this tie was a testament to the tenacity that MVHS has in the face of a strong defense. From the near misses LHS’ offense had to the back-to-back breakaways MVHS displayed, there were many moments that could have shifted the momentum for either team. However, Gallo places less importance on the critical instants when a goal is scored and instead focuses on the struggle the team had to set up that goal.
“There was a time in the second half, where we slipped a couple passes,” Gallo said. “We had a great opportunity, and unfortunately we didn’t get the ball in the goal. But in soccer, it’s not just a single play. There’s multiple plays and little wins throughout the entire game. The way we controlled the ball in the second half was really, really good.”
