Varsity Boys Soccer tied 1-1 against Lynbrook High School on Wednesday, Jan. 15. With both teams playing conservatively, the game was off to a slow start as good defense and possession of the ball were the major focus. However, at the 40-minute mark, MVHS took a 1-0 lead, with sharp passing and a goal scored by junior forward Lewly Tzankov.
Still, LHS caught up in the second half, putting more players up to attack and maintaining possession for longer, scoring a goal and tying the game at 1-1. In the final 5 minutes, MVHS utilized a strategy of putting players forward, allowing the team to attack repeatedly, resulting in five goal opportunities. Nonetheless, the game still ended with a 1-1 draw.
Senior midfielder and captain Jiahang He points to an early turning point in the match when LHS was reduced to 10 players in the first half. The dismissal came after Tzankov received a closed fist swing while battling for the ball with a LHS defender.
“Immediately after the red card, we were doing good,” He said. “After that, we got too comfortable. That’s definitely a big part, but it’s also just our mindset. We gotta talk more and bring more energy, it starts from us.”
Junior and defensive midfielder Osman Dongan felt that although MVHS fell short of the win, the match was still a step forward. He notes that the team was able to implement what it had worked on in practice and better the mistakes it had made during previous games.
“We were working on playing the ball around instead of dribbling up, and we kept a lot more possession than we usually would,” said Dongan. “That’s what we practiced on, and it paid off.”
However, sophomore and goalkeeper Darsh Kanukolanu believes there’s still many ways the team can improve, emphasizing that they have a lot of potential and that this game wasn’t the best representation of the overall team’s ability.
“It doesn’t prepare us for the rest of the season — we’re a much better team than this,” Kanukolanu said. “Today was not our best game, but we can learn by staying on our toes and not just playing how the other team plays. We need to play how we play.”
