The Carlmont JV girls soccer team defeated the Menlo-Atherton Bears with a score of 3-0 in a regular season game at Carlmont High School on Thursday, Feb. 1. The Scots outplayed the Bears, maintaining their spot at the top of the league standings.
“We didn’t want to be too overconfident because we knew that Menlo-Atherton beat Sequoia, but we were very focused and ready to win,” said sophomore defender Rina Choe.
The game had an intense start, with both teams having multiple scoring opportunities. The Bears tried strengthening their offense by utilizing through balls and pushing up the field, while the Scots focused on controlling the midfield.
Midway through the first half, the Scots executed a through ball to a winger, who delivered a cross to freshman Gianna Armanini. With a precise shot aimed at the bottom left corner, Armanini scored, giving the Scots a 1-0 lead.
“The game went really well. Both our offense and defense played well and the team connected well. In the first half, we gained a lot of momentum once we scored our first goal, which allowed us to perform well the rest of the game,” said junior goalkeeper Samantha Bishop.
Minutes later, Armanini used her speed to pass a Bears defender. Her pass resulted in a one-on-one against the opposing goalkeeper, where she scored and increased the Scots lead to 2-0.
“We started off a little slow and they got a few chances, but we picked up the pace and scored two really good goals in the first half,” Choe said.
We had lots of really good positive energy and lots of communication throughout the game.
— Natalia Manzanares
The Scots controlled the game during the second half and outplayed the Bears in the midfield. They maintained possession and created many chances to score.
“We did very well connecting our passes and possessing the ball, even though it was very wet,” said sophomore Eva Gonzales.
The Scots scored their third goal from a cross to Delaney Kumer, a freshman midfielder for the Scots. The ball flew over the goalkeeper, and Kumer was waiting at the back post to head the ball into the goal, extending their lead to 3-0.
“We had lots of really good positive energy and lots of communication throughout the game,” said head coach Natalia Manzanares.
Despite their dominant showing, the Scots want to improve their performance for the season’s last two games.
“We still need to work on our mindset going into the games and being ready and focused even during the warmups and practices,” Manzanares said.
The Scots look forward to their future games and have high expectations for the rest of the season.
“We want to keep winning and win the league,” Gonzales said.
