There’s no need to doubt the Boys Varsity Soccer team’s ability to come out on top. Not after the win they pulled out against Sequoia on Wednesday night.
With the ever present nerves that occur when facing Sequoia, the team came out victorious with a tight 1-0 win.
“We did what we had to do,” said Coach Jodi Beloff. Although the team got the win, Coach Beloff wasn’t pleased with how the team played overall. “We didn’t play well,” said Beloff. “We were extremely flat, and there wasn’t a lot of energy.”
The game started off with intense pressure from Sequoia. Both teams attempted goals, but defense stayed tight for a majority of the first half.
“We started out flat,” said midfielder Bijan Khalili. “After a few [substitutes] came in, we brought the energy to the game.”
With barely three minutes left in the first half, senior Jake Retchless picked up the team with a close goal. Even with the team pumped for the second half, it became a battle of the defenses.
“We [needed] to find the open man more,” said senior Brandon Moyle. “We needed to trust our guys and put the ball in the [right] spaces.”
Goalkeeper Jacob Segal assisted the team with catches and saves left and right. “[Being able to prevent goals] was great,” said Segal. “We needed the win tonight, and it was good to help contribute.”
The second half remained a back and forth battle until the last five minutes of the game. Two Carlmont players went down on foul plays, but neither were called. The referees claimed they “didn’t see the fouls happen,” so they couldn’t make the calls.
“It wasn’t fair at all,” said Moyle, who shortly after the referee dispute was kicked in the shin by a Sequoia player and had to leave the game.
The game ended roughly with a heated team and a close score. In the season so far, the boys have four wins, three losses, and one tie.
“[The boys] have the ability to beat every team at this point,” said Beloff. “They [have] to know in their head that they have [that] ability.” Varsity’s next game is at Menlo Atherton on Friday, Jan. 31.
