On Jan. 24, the Bonita Vista High (BVH) Barons boys’ varsity soccer team faced off against the Montgomery High School (MHS) Aztecs. Throughout the match BVH remained strong to finish in a tie, breaking their previous three-game losing streak.
BVH started the game off strong at the center of the field with a kick-off and possession of the ball. Within the first minute of the game MHS had tripped a BVH player on MHS’ side of the field, allowing BVH to gain possession of the ball. BVH received a free kick outside the box but missed. Throughout the game BVH had several chances on goal but as a team, struggled on finishing the play.
“Communication was a challenge because I feel like we couldn’t communicate well. This led to another challenge which was having a hard time finishing our plays to score a goal,” center midfielder and junior Victor Renteria (8) said.
As the game progressed through the first half, MHS pushed further up onto BVH’s side of the field with many offensive plays and touches on the ball. As the twenty minute mark hit, BVH began to recover with their own defensive plays.
“Defensive wise, they played well and that is what I asked of them. The players were compact on the ball and kept their shape and formation. We could have played a little bit faster and more direct but overall they played a good match up,” BVH boys’ varsity soccer Head Coach Justin Robinett said.
While BVH’s defense played in their direct formation, MHS pushed through them scoring a goal during the twenty third minute and making the score 1-0. However, this did not discourage BVH right winger and junior Hayden McMackin (20) who accounted for good touches on the ball, assisting BVH with crossovers into the box with attempts to score.
“Offensively we worked a lot on using our wings and our composure at our practice and then showed it here by attacking the ball using that dynamic,” Robinett said.
The scoreboard stands at 1-0 with MHS in the lead, but BVH is determined to get a goal, with their last three losses in mind Through players’ efficient touches and passes on the ball left winger and senior Damian Ortega (19) takes the opportunity to shoot and score the game-tying shot for BVH.
“I’ve been wanting to get out there and get a goal in for myself. I want to put myself out there, especially as a senior, and I want to help make an impact on the team. Scoring helped me do that tonight,” Ortega said.
After BVH tied up the score, the game continued with MHS kicking down their side of the field to their goalie. MHS’ goalie passed the ball up the side of the field where McMackin was positioned and ready to block off a MHS player in an attempt to shoot the ball in their box. With BVH aiming to gain possession, a foul was called against MHS for becoming aggressive and tripping a BVH player. This unnecessary aggression from MHS resulted in a yellow card against an MHS player.
“Our chemistry as a team was good, it was a lot better than it’s been because we needed a positive moment booster (due to previous losses) and coming into a team that beat our last opponent that we lost to unfortunately it’s good to get the tie,” Robinett said.
Despite challenges BVH utilized their strong chemistry and determination for a goal as the second half began. BVH had several strong chances on goal but could not complete their plays. Confined to stay strong BVH pushed against MHS’s offensive plays as they continued to push up into BVHs side of the field. The scoreboard remained at 1-1 as the game came to a close, wrecking BVHs losing streak with a tie.
“I felt like my team connected a lot more than we have in previous games due to dealing with a lot of injuries so having to put new players in different positions was a change but I feel like we are starting to get the chemistry back,” Ortega said.
