On Monday night, the boys soccer team destroyed the Kennedy Titans with a whopping score of 7-0.
After a brief stop for a referee substitution, the game got underway. M-A started off on the front foot, forcing two great saves by the Kennedy goalkeeper in the opening ten minutes. Almost 20 minutes into the game, a wall pass from junior Lucas Selvik to junior Nathan Thurlow resulted in a cross to junior Yandel Hernandez, who shot the ball. While it was originally saved, it was then forced over the line, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead.
Down by one, Kennedy kept high pressure in hopes of shutting the Bears down but were unable to do so. The Bears dominated offensively, getting chance after chance to score.
With 15 minutes remaining in the first half, junior Pablo Martinez slipped in a pass to senior Cameron Leung, who slotted the ball past the goalkeeper into the far post to double the M-A lead. Despite the large lead, however, the Titans did not lose their intensity. Sophomore Nolan Kanevsky was lured into a yellow card after a hard foul on a Kennedy winger.
The Kennedy goalkeeper repeatedly made miraculous saves, single-handedly keeping the Titans in the game. However, senior Albrecht Tribukait responded with an amazing shot from 30 yards out, shooting it right over the goalie’s head and giving M-A a commanding 3-0 lead into halftime.
Starting the second half, M-A got yet another breakaway, with players up. Kennedy’s goalkeeper fought as hard as possible as the ball bounced around in the box, making save after save. However, Thurlow finished into the back of the net off of a Selvik pass, which extended the lead to four. Thurlow put away his second goal of the night just a few minutes later when he volleyed a corner into the bottom corner of the far post to bring the lead to 5-0 in favor of M-A.
Later in the second half, the Bears had another chance to score off a corner kick. Senior Hewitt Stevenson lifted the ball into a dangerous area, and senior Ben Miyahara finished a header into the bottom corner for the Bears’ sixth goal of the night and Stevenson’s second assist.
In the final moments of the game, junior Kasra Motamedi lifted a shot over the Titan’s goalkeeper as the whistle blew, leaving the score at 7-0.
After defeating the Woodside Wildcats 5-1 on November 15, the team feels confident for the rest of the season. Combined with the win from Monday, there are even higher hopes for the outcome of this season. Senior Derick Kennedy said, “The Bears are looking fierce this season, and we are ready for more.”
Leung also added, “We have a really strong senior presence this year. We all support each other. Everyone wants to be here and contribute in any way possible, and there is just a different energy in the air right now.”
