The boys soccer team defeated the Carlmont Scots in a 2-0 victory on Wednesday afternoon.
The game started with the Scots punting the ball but the Bears quickly gained possession. The Scots’ aggressive start resulted in a player fouling senior midfielder Pablo Martinez, gaining a free kick for M-A.
Senior midfielder Manases Lara Alvarez connected clean passes to the middle, helping the Bears advance into the Scots’ half. After struggling to maintain possession, the Bears built out from the back, looking for an opening, and sent senior striker Nathan Thurlow down the right line. Despite the unsuccessful score attempt, the Bears maintained pressure on Carlmont’s half.
The Scots responded to the Bears’ offense with a strong defensive line: Thurlow soon received a yellow card, which forced Carlmont to punt the ball back into M-A’s half.
Carlmont maintained possession and tried to make their way into the Bears’ half. The defending line, specifically senior center back Noah de Haaff and junior center back Nolan Kanevsky, played a pivotal role by clearing the ball and stopping a counterattack.
Taking control, Thurlow sent a pass down the left side, giving senior left back Ayden Wise an opening to shoot. He ripped one into the bottom right corner at 15:45, giving the Bears their first goal.
“We continued to be strong in the back and were able to score off our continual pressure. It was a physical game but no one backed down from the challenge,” Thurlow said.
The Bears continued their momentum as senior midfielder Yandel Hernandez took control of the attacking middle and created multiple shot attempts and crosses into the box. With ten minutes left in the half, Martinez weaved through the defenders and shot from outside the box but just barely missed.
Carlmont’s goalkeeper picked up a back pass, resulting in an indirect free kick on the box line. Martinez faked the shot and rolled the ball back to de Haaff, but with too much power, it hit the crossbar. Resulting the pressure back into M-A’s half with only a minute left, a cross by the Scots flew into the box but sophomore goalkeeper Torrey Franz saved it, ending the first half 1-0.
The Bears entered the second half determined to score more goals. They started with a strong offense and were able to keep momentum in Carlmont’s half, always looking for an open shot. Carlmont realized that M-A wasn’t going to back down, creating high intensity on offense and defense.
Senior Gabriel Hermosillo took over as goalkeeper in the second half and didn’t let anything get past him, as he saved an attempted shot by Carlmont with 30:26 left in the game. M-A reset and started to build out from the back, making their way into Carlmont’s half. Slowly but surely, they created numerous shot-off attempts and dominated possession.
Senior right back Adrian Stadelmann, de Haaff, and Kanevsky kept a vigilant and composed backline by connecting and switching passes. Thurlow, determined for a goal, sprinted into the Scots’ half, unsuccessfully attempting a shot. But not even a minute later, Thurlow obtained possession of the ball again and sent one flying past the Scots’ goalkeeper, entering the back of the net at 19:25 and putting the Bears up 2-0.
With 11 minutes left, senior defender Adrian Standelmann tightly defended the Scots, not letting them pass him. Carlmont was desperate to score in the final minutes but M-A made sure to keep up and prevent them from doing so by keeping an aggressive and fast-paced game. The final whistle blew and M-A came on top with a 2-0 win.
“There were some mistakes here and there that we needed to clean up, but we came into [the game] with the mindset to win and executed when it mattered most. Hopefully, we can build on this momentum and keep our undefeated streak going,” Lara said.
“I thought we played well as a team, staying focused and organized for the whole 80 minutes,” Thurlow said. “We showed why we are undefeated and are ready to face anyone.”
The Bears will travel to face South San Francisco High School this Wednesday at 4 p.m.
