On Wednesday, the boys’ soccer team lost 1-0 in a close game against Burlingame High School Panthers.
The first half saw some close attempts on goal for both teams, but each team responded with a strong defense. 18 minutes into the half, sophomore Noah De Haaff took a free kick, but narrowly missed it as the ball bounced off the post.
The second half started with a kickoff from the Panthers. Both teams made several attempts on goal. 20 minutes into the half, Burlingame had a breakaway, but was stopped by seniors Ntsika Mtwa and Trevor Gawle. This was followed by four subsequent nail-biting corner kicks for Burlingame before the Panthers finally kicked the ball out of bounds and M-A received the ball for a goal kick.
Both teams remained tied 0-0 until the Panthers scored with just 10 minutes left in the game, bringing the score to 1-0. Despite three close attempts, M-A was unable to get the ball in the net. The Bears were given one last chance to score on a corner, but missed their shot as the referee blew the final whistle, cementing M-A’s loss.
Junior Cameron Leung said, “We’ve already played Burlingame this season. I was expecting a win today because we won our last two games, but unfortunately we lost.”
When the Bears played Burlingame three weeks ago, the game ended with a 1-1 tie.
Despite losing, Leung thought the team played really well. He stated, “We just didn’t finish our chances. We mostly dominated the game, but Burlingame’s a good team, so it could have gone either way.”
Sophomore Lucas Selvik agreed saying, “We were passing the ball really well around the back, and breaking lines into the midfield, but then getting up to the final third of the game it didn’t go as well. We had some really good chances, but no matter how well we play, it doesn’t matter if we don’t score.”
While the team was disappointed in their loss, they will use it as motivation for future games this season. Leung said, “We were on a hot streak and this game definitely ended that, but I do think that we will get back up, and with more practice and better mentality we’ll win more games.”
Selvik added, “We have to learn to be more direct, go to goal a bit more, take more shots, and, in the back, make sure that we don’t let them get through. It was a rough one but hopefully we can turn it around.”
