Carlmont and Sequoia entered the boys varsity game knowing that they were tied in second place in the league. Both teams walked onto the field ready to play with determination and to fight for the win.
The pressure was on.
The first half started with both of the teams defense and offense players being aggressive. At minute eight, Sequoia’s Alberto Vasquez scored, giving his team the lead. The game continued to be intense as both teams were playing vigorously and rough.
Soon after the goal, Sequoia’s Anthony Pulido fell to the ground and left the field after claiming to have been pushed. Junior Spencer Stewart later received a yellow card for committing a foul. Players on both teams continued to push and shove, resulting in many referee calls. At minute 30, number nine on Sequoia left the field hurt after running into junior Bijan Khalili.
Sophomore Dro Avetian fought for his team and scored halfway into the first half, tying the game 1-1.
The second half triggered the nerves of the audience as both teams made multiple attempts for the goal. Shouting and yelling came from the bleachers as calls were made against both teams. Junior Foster Kupbens was pulled and shoved to the ground halfway through the game, and left the field. Frustration was heard from his teammates and the parents as no call was made.
Junior John Bran said, “I felt as if the referee missed some calls, and some of the calls he did make weren’t very accurate.”
More than halfway through the second half, Vasquez scored his second goal, giving Sequoia the lead. The rest of the game was a back and forth battle between defenses. Carlmont continued to fight and attempted to score multiple times, but no goal was made. Sequoia received the win with a final score of 2-1.
As the game ended, screams of frustration came from Carlmont’s side as they were angry at the calls that were made throughout the game.
Referee Sal Iraheta said, “We are the referees. We go to school and we spend a lot of time there. We learn the rules, and we know them.”
Boys varsity coach Jodi Beloff said, “I think they played a good game. I was happy how they played defensively. It was just a series of bad luck. The referee calls had nothing to do with it. If you’re not putting balls in the net, the referee calls don’t mean anything.”
Although they came out with a loss, the players were satisfied with how they played in the game.
Junior Malcolm McClellan said, “I think at times there were moments where we had good touches and we passed really well, and during that time, they couldn’t touch us. We were dominating. However, we do need to tighten it up defensively all around.”
Carlmont boys varsity will play their next game at Menlo-Atherton on Jan. 30 at 4 p.m., with the hope of getting a win.
Bran said, “I’m hoping that we go all out, and just give it our all at the next game.”
