The Carlmont Scots varsity soccer team beat the Alisal Trojans 2-0 at home on Dec. 10.
Both teams played well throughout the entire match, with high intensity and good teamwork. But going into the second half, the Scots were able to capitalize on their chances and scored two goals in the last quarter of the game.
“We started strong. From the kickoff, we had a good mentality, and we had a game plan that we executed,” said varsity head coach Ryan Freeman.
In the first half, the Scots played well together and created goal-scoring opportunities. However, the Trojans matched the Scots’ level of play and held their back-line, forcing the half to end 0-0.
“We knew the other team was going to bring intensity and passion, which they did, and we knew they were going to put in a full game,” Freeman said.
After the first half, Freeman allowed the players time to discuss solutions to problems that had arisen and plan tactics for the rest of the game.
“At halftime, we talked about playing fast, but not rushing passes, and figured out tactically where offensive players would be,” said senior Rohan Yadavalli.
Going into the second half with a game plan, the Scots maintained their level of play. However, many opportunities were missed, and the Scots struggled to put the ball in the back of the net.
“We needed to complete the chances we had. We were in good spots and had good attacking sequences, but couldn’t quite get it into the net,” Freeman said.
However, halfway through the second half, the Scots had a break and scored their first goal. Junior Milad Ebadi finished the goal with a header from a ball sent in by senior Alex Kim.
“I saw Milad in the box, I just chipped it in, and luckily it went right over the defender’s head so he was able to score on the header,” Kim said.
After the first goal, the Scots fell into a good rhythm and had several more dangerous offensive plays. In the final minutes of the game, junior Nolan Wong headed the ball into the net to score the second goal and seal the game.
“For three games in a row now, this team is able to figure out what our problems are, come together with solutions, and then implement them to get good results,” Freeman said.
