The Carlmont Scots freshman boys soccer team beat the Menlo-Atherton Bears 3-0 during their second season matchup, winning the league on points.
Now boasting an undefeated 8-0 record in the league, the Scots sit atop the table. They’ve all but won the title, as no other teams are able to catch them with just two matches remaining.
“It’s great, that’s definitely what we wanted to set out and accomplish at the beginning of the season, and we did it,” said fullback Nathan Dilman.
Although they ended up winning the game, the Scots had a slower start to the match. With a heavy midfield battle, the game remained scoreless up until the last quarter, as both the Scots and the Bears failed to capitalize on any chances.
After a half-time speech from captain Braylen Jackson, the Scots were looking to win the match. As the game progressed, the Scots slowly took back control. As the Scots increased the intensity, the Bears began to fall behind. The Scots were winning more duels and taking more shots as the match started to shift in their favor, with the ball spending more and more time in the Bears’ half.
“Second half, the boys decided to wake up and play the way I know and they know how to play. They made the adjustments they needed to, corrected the mistakes, and they came out and executed,” said the Scots head coach Hugh Plitt.
With the Scots hunting for their opening goal, the shots were flying from all over the field. Roughly midway through the half, the Scots whipped a cross into the Bears’ box, but it was cleared away by a defender. Bouncing just inside the 18, Dilman volleyed the ball, placing it above the keeper and into the net.
“Obviously I’m happy to get a goal. To be honest, I thought I missed, but I looked up and saw it in the back of the net, so I was pretty happy. It’s a team effort, and I was just doing my part,” Dilman said.
With the floodgates open, the Scots continued to attack relentlessly. They didn’t have to wait long for their second goal, as midfielder Akin Narisaranukul hit another volley from the edge of the box, bringing the Scots to a 2-0 lead.
With the game winding down to its final minutes, the Scots still wanted another goal. After a scramble in the box, midfielder Gianni Haggarty found himself open with the ball right outside the 6-yard box, making it 3-0 for the Scots.
Despite winning the league, the Scots players want to win their remaining two games and finish out the season undefeated.
“We still got South San Francisco and Sequoia, and we want to win for sure,” said goalkeeper Noah Kohn-Murray.
Of course, the Scots coach echoed the thoughts of the players, hoping to achieve the 10-0 record.
“Mathematically, we won the league, but we still have a lot of unfinished business,” Plitt said.
