The boys soccer team defeated the Woodside Wildcats 1-0 on Friday afternoon. This win completed another undefeated week for the Bears.
Although the game kicked off with the Wildcats in possession, senior midfielder Pablo Martinez quickly intercepted a pass, giving the Bears the ball. Within five minutes, senior striker Nathan Thurlow attempted a goal but was blocked by the Wildcats’ goalkeeper.
Only two minutes after the blocked goal, Thurlow saw another opportunity and smashed it in, giving the Bears an early 1-0 lead.
With six minutes remaining in the first half, senior midfielder Yandel Hernandez made a reckless slide tackle that forced the refs to issue him a red card. The Bears had to play a man-down for the rest of the game.
After numerous attempts to grow the lead, the Bears found the ball coming uncomfortably close to their territory. Once the Wildcats hit the post on one of their few scoring attempts the Bears’ defense worked overtime to prevent the Wildcats from getting on the board.
The second half started with the Bears in possession, but it didn’t stay that way for long. The Wildcats stepped up their intensity, preventing the Bears from gaining any momentum. For most of the second half, the ball was intruding on the Bears’ territory.
With 29 minutes left in the game, senior center-back Noah de Haaff stole the ball and pushed it down the field. He then passed to Thurlow in front of the Wildcats’ goal, but the ball was kicked out of bounds.
After multiple back-and-forth possessions, the Wildcats hit the gas. Woodside was desperate for a goal, and went for multiple shots that were blocked by senior goalkeeper Gabriel Hermosillo.
The Bears needed to stop the Wildcats’ constant possession, and tried to get the ball as far from Bear territory as possible. Even with three minutes left in the game, the Wildcats stayed relentless, nearly scoring before it was saved by Hermosillo.
The Bears stayed strong until the final whistle blew, ending the game with a narrow 1-0 win.
“Everyone was supporting each other. It was a tough game, as we only scored in the beginning of the first half, so for the rest of the game we were just maintaining our lead. We had to cheer each other up and keep each other going,” junior center midfielder Mateo Sosnik said.
“We were down a man for 50 minutes, but we still got the job done,” de Haaff said.
“One goal is all we needed to keep going with our undefeated record,” Sosnik added.
The Bears will travel to face the Saint Francis Lancers this Friday at 6 p.m.
