Four different Carlmont players scored five goals as the JV boys soccer team sailed to a 5-0 victory in a conference game versus the Half Moon Bay High School Cougars.
The Scots got off to a quick start, challenging the Cougars’ defense multiple times before freshman Justin Eliason finished a shot, putting the Scots up 1-0 less than five minutes into the game.
“I think that it made us more energetic, driving us to keep up the press and continue scoring,” said Eliason on the impact of his quick goal.
The Scots weren’t satisfied and continued to press on offense, making short, quick passes. Sophomore Lance Liong came close to scoring, but he was called offsides by the referee.
The Scots did not let this get to them and in the 17th minute, Ryan Yang, a freshman, scored another goal, giving the team a 2-0 lead over the Cougars.
The Cougars made some kick passes of their own, but the Scots were able to steal the ball and create another scoring chance. This opportunity did not succeed as a header by Noah Chang, a junior, was saved by the Cougar’s goalkeeper.
After a Cougar attack failed, the Scots got close to the goal but had their shot blocked by the keeper yet again, and a defender stopped the follow-up attempt.
Shortly after stopping the Scots advance, the Cougars began challenging Carlmont’s defense. Carlmont keeper Christopher Fromm, a sophomore, rescued the Scots by falling on the ball and preventing a potential goal.
The Scots nearly scored on their next two attacks but Chang’s shot went wide of the goal on the first and Liong was called offsides on the second.
Just before half-time, Carlmont center midfielder Maxwell Lee, a junior, received a yellow card but the Scots were awarded the free kick, much to the shock of both teams.
Coming out of the half, the Scots continued to press the Cougars on offense, even though they were up by two scores.
“I was happy with where we were at, but we needed more as many teams have scored more than two goals in a half. We still had work to do and to put this game away we needed 2-3 more goals and keep control of the ball,” said head coach Ryan Freeman.
The Cougars were able to penetrate the Scots’ defense and nearly put their first point on the board. However, the Scots were once again bailed out by Fromm, who made two consecutive diving saves, keeping the Cougars scoreless.
“If you concede a goal, everyone’s down, so you just have to focus on every play but saving goals is my job, and that’s really what my main focus is,” Fromm said.
The teams battled back and forth, with neither able to get anything going until Chang scored a goal in the 55th minute.
Chang quickly struck again and put the Scots up 4-0 just over a minute later.
The Scots defense stayed strong, allowing the offense to create another opportunity to score when the Cougars committed a foul in the penalty box, giving the team a penalty kick.
Sophomore Joshua Stattenfield took advantage of this penalty and scored, putting the Scots up 5-0 in the 63rd minute.
The Scots continued to dominate possession of the ball and ended the game victorious.
“The fact that we were able to keep possession helped us control the game, and when we were in control we had more chances and the more chances you have, the more likely you are to score,” coach Freeman said.
The defense played a big part in this, keeping the Cougars away from the goal and allowing the Scots to keep pressuring on offense.
“The defense made my job a lot easier and all I had to focus on was making a simple save,” Fromm said.
