Boys varsity soccer’s season has officially ended after their first and last CCS game.
On Feb. 24, the Scots lost their match in CCS to the Alvarez Eagles on home turf, ending the 2015-2016 season. The score was 1-0.
There was a substantial amount of energy at kickoff; Alvarez was slightly stronger, creating several consecutive offensive opportunities on the Scots’ side of the field. Although Alvarez displayed strong efforts towards a goal, Carlmont was strong enough to ward off the attempts.
The Scots fired back with speed and strong motives to get to the other end of the field. However, their attempts did not lead to a goal.
“Overall, I think the team outplayed their opponent. There are many components to a soccer game, and the boys did a lot of them well. Unfortunately, one we didn’t do as well was creating dangerous chances on the goal, which is what really counts towards the score,” said assistant coach Chris Zaino.
As the game continued, Carlmont completed smart combinations in the midfield, but could not get the proper crosses up the field for scoring.
At nine minutes in, the Eagles scored on the Scots, making the score 1-0. Carlmont had built up so much momentum on a counter play that they were caught off-guard when they lost possession of the ball. The Eagles quickly took the ball and raced down the field, leaving the Scots surprised and unable to catch up in time to stop the breakaway.
The remainder of the first half was composed of equal possession of the ball by both teams. The Scots kept up their speed until the half came to a close.
By halftime, the score was still 1-0.
When the second half began, both teams exerted a significant amount of effort, creating a very even match.
Fouls were consistently being called on both teams. Several free kicks were taken by junior Jack McLean.
“[The game] was disappointing because we could have done better. Overall, it was a good game, but I wish it could have gone slightly better,” said McLean.
Team members on Alvarez would stay on the ground after a fall for long periods of time, claiming to be injured. Some of the Carlmont players became suspicious that the team was trying to waste time in order to preserve their one-goal lead.
“They went down pretty easily. Aside from that, they were pretty good sports throughout the game,” said McLean.
Although the team experienced a difficult loss, the outlook on varsity’s entire season as a whole remains positive.
“In general this season, varsity accomplished a lot. Clearly from the result of the playoffs, we were in a very tough league, and the boys competed well in that. They had an outstanding preseason and they accomplished all of this while keeping up with school work, including a team average GPA of 4.01,” said Zaino.
