The Bonita Vista High (BVH) boys’ soccer team played a challenging match at home against Southwest High (SOH) on Jan. 24, 2020. The Barons lost 4-2, giving them an overall record of zero wins to two losses against SOH for this season. The loss comes after a nine game winning streak for the team, at a time where upcoming playoff placement is up in the air.

Coach Jason Murphy commented on the loss, accrediting it to a lack of physical intensity.

“We’re being out hustled. Other teams are working harder than us, so I just gotta work [the BVH players] harder. We got better skills than 99 percent of the teams that we play, but some of these teams just work harder than us. What it comes down to, is that they want it more than us,” Murphy said.

Scoring both goals for the Barons was forward and senior Isaac Escamilla (7), who came on as a substitute after the team was down 2-0, equalizing the game with two quick goals.

“I thought [scoring the first goal] would spark us up, so we could get a nice little comeback, but it didn’t happen,” Escamilla said.

One of the issues Murphy identified was the issue with possession in the middle of the field, a place where the team struggled to take control and move the ball forward efficiently.

“It’s a hard field. I think they were playing faster than us and it kind of threw us off a little bit. You get us on a turf field, we run teams into the ground. [Due to] this kind of field, against a team like [SOH], we lose,” Murphy said.

One of the struggles Murphy has encountered in his first year back as the boys’ soccer coach, is the culture of the team, which he accredits to some of their difficulties.

“I’m trying to change the culture of this team. The previous coach let these kids screw around, and I’m not having any of that. Even today, two of my best players came five minutes late and I sat them for the first 20 minutes of the game. But we have to change the culture, they can’t just do whatever they feel like doing. The culture of the whole program has to change, and it sucks that we have to lose games like that, but it’s what we gotta do.”

After the loss, the team has just a few games left to secure a playoff berth. The team won 2-1 against Chula Vista High on Jan. 27, 2020, and lost 2-1 versus Castle Park High on Jan. 29, 2020. Their next game is on Jan. 31, 2020 against Otay Ranch High.

“We’re on the verge of barely making [the] playoffs,” Escamilla said. “So we’ll just hope for the best.”