Varsity Girls Soccer defeated Lynbrook High School 4-1 on Wednesday, Jan. 14, maintaining possession for the majority of the game. MVHS gained an advantage early in the first half, scoring their first goal around 10 minutes into the first quarter. Although LHS responded with their first and only goal, MVHS quickly ensured their win by scoring two more goals in the first half.
Although MVHS was only able to score one goal in the second half, they held dominant possession of the ball throughout the game with a 3-5-2 formation. Defensive midfielder and junior Isobel Schweigert attributes the wide margin of victory to the team’s offensive-focused strategy and formation. As captain, she also explains that going into the game, the team’s main goal was to pose a threat to LHS’s defensive line. Head Coach Stephen Liu agrees with Schweigert and is proud of their strategy’s execution.
“The team has an innate sense of willingness to share,” Liu said. “They want to make each other successful. There’s no real selfish attitude here. Most of the goals were made by a lot of connecting passes and just a lot of sharing. They’re helping each other succeed, which is great. It shows up in the game and shows up in the results.”
This victory continues MVHS’ undefeated streak and further strengthens its current number one position in the league. Schweigert has played varsity since freshman year and therefore was able to identify the vast differences between the current and previous years’ teams that ultimately contributed to the success of this season.
“We have nine new freshmen, and all of them are very impressive,” Schweigert said. “It shows through the results of this season that everyone has a great commitment to the team. Everyone shows up to all the games and all the practices, which we were kind of lacking last season. Having everyone there every day to learn together as one group is really beneficial to us. We have a culture of grit and discipline.”
Overall, Schweigert and Liu hope to continue their streak for the rest of the season. Liu recognizes that with immense success comes additional pressure for the team to perform well — something he hopes to combat by framing the rest of the season as a “great challenge that the team will enjoy.”
“It’s been almost 25 years since the team has been the first in the league,” Schweigert said. “It feels like we’re making history. We keep surprising ourselves each game — but we know that we can play well, and then we just continue to motivate ourselves. We have a lot of momentum for the rest of the season.”
