Varsity Boys Soccer defeated Lynbrook High School 3-1 at home on Wednesday, Feb. 4. The first 10 minutes started off with both teams playing good defense and the score remaining tied 0-0. With 25 minutes left in the first half, senior midfielder Bhanu Raut scored the first goal of the game. However, 15 minutes later, LHS broke through the Matador defense and scored, tying the game at 1-1. With time winding down in the first half, the Matadors picked up their defensive pressure and kept the ball for longer periods of time on offense. This led to another goal by Raut just two minutes after the previous goal, bringing the score to 2-1 at the end of the first half.
Starting the second half, the Matadors played even more aggressively on offense, leading to a goal by senior striker and center back Vedant Agarwal, making the score 3-1 with 31 minutes left. With the lead, the intensity of the game increased, as LHS picked up aggression on both ends of the field, leading to an abnormal seven yellow cards called. Despite the choppy ending, the Matadors still came out with a 3-1 win, making up for their 1-1 tie at LHS on Jan. 14.
Senior forward Erik Lewis attributes the win to the use of the 5-1-2-1 strategy, which allowed the Matadors to play faster and more defensive-oriented. By doing this, he says, they better controlled the pace of the game.
“The 5-1-2-1 strategy gave us a lot of space in the midfield and especially out wide for us to attack,” Lewis said. “This strategy also worked out especially well for us because they weren’t pressing very hard. Additionally, we possessed the ball a lot better and didn’t rush our passes at all.”
Agarwal agrees that their formation helped them keep control of the game and increase possession of the ball. He adds that another main component that allowed them to secure their victory in this game was MVHS’ increased patience.
“Even though the other team was giving us more time, we had to still keep our patience and take our time with our chances,” Agarwal said. “Usually we force the ball and force things when they aren’t there. Today, I think we were a lot more patient.”
Coach Pancho Tzankov believes that a new drill he incorporated into practice allowed the team to control the pace throughout the game, notably speeding up the pace of their opponents. By doing this drill, he believes the team has also learned to play much more creatively and their passing efficiency has improved, especially within the last two weeks.
“Today the team had the best energy and the best state of mind we had the whole season,” Pancho said. “You see how many people on the team were laughing, being happy, having fun. Nobody went crazy responding to the trash talking of the other team. We were happy, because we saw that we improved a lot.”
