Varsity Boys Soccer fell to Westmont High School 3-0 on Monday, Dec.1. WHS consistently maintained possession, scoring their first goal 19 minutes into the first half. In the next three minutes, WHS was able to outrun MVHS’ defense and score twice, bringing the score to 3-0.
Although WHS dominated the field in the first 22 minutes, MVHS shifted the pace of the game, creating a wall with two centerbacks and two fullbacks spread across their half that would prevent another goal for the remainder of the game. Junior and striker Ivan Shliakhov says the Matadors shifted their momentum and started to play more confidently in the second half.
“Some players were a bit scared,” Shliakhov said. “Because when they have the ball, they’re scared of it being their fault if they lose it. So, we talked over it and said, ‘Hey, it’s fine. Just don’t be scared, be confident. That’s the point of you being here.’”
While Head Coach Pancho Tzankov agrees, he says the constant possession that MVHS maintained in the second half caused the shift in momentum. Tzankov also points out the immense amount of pressure that MVHS applied during the second half, which allowed them to control the game and prevented them from conceding goals.
“We dominated almost the whole second half,” Tzankov said. “There were 10 minutes until the other team couldn’t cross the half line. In the first half, we got a bit scared, because the other team is very fast and athletic. But then we managed to overcome these problems, and in the second half we really played our game.”
Junior and centerback Leo Shih believes that in their future season games, the team will have to play with more communication, and be unafraid to be more fierce in order to efficiently attack and defend. Shih says that having an assertive playing style and talking to each other on the field will allow the team to take calculated risks and be more aggressive towards their opponents.
“Being able to communicate with the rest of the team by telling them where to go,” Shih said. “Especially as a centerback, I should be doing that a lot more than I am right now. I do notice, even though we played pretty good, a lot of the time there are multiple people that are just like in the same area, and that’s not very good.”
