Boys varsity soccer finish 2014 with a convincing win
On the last official day of school for 2014, the boys soccer team took on South Florida Heat. In near perfect weather, the four zero score didn’t reflect just how dominant the Falcons were over their opponent, or how well they played. Within four minutes of the opening whistle, the Falcons had scored their first goal by exploiting the width and using their ability to consistently attack down the sidelines.
Senior Claudio Wingartz would set up the goal by taking on a player down the left side, before turning it back, and putting in the perfect cross to classmate Waleed Mneimneh who volleyed it home from just outside the six, with the touch of a veteran. The second of three first-half goals would come in the eighteenth minute, from another cross. This time Junior Andres ‘Puch’ Castaneda would take on his defender, before crossing the perfect ball from close to the right touchline. Timing his run to meet the cross, classmate Vitor Pagano headed it with precision passed the keeper. It would take just thirteen minutes more before the Falcons would score their next one, as Mneimneh added to his goals, and Castaneda added to his assists. Again, the Falcons moved the ball from the midfield to the wing, then Castaneda put in another great ball, which briefly found the foot of Mneimneh, before he smashed it home, giving the keeper no chance as the ball hit the upper ninety.
In the second half, the Falcons would add just one to their tally, through Senior Miguel Gonzalez. Sophomore Bobby Alvarez made a strong run down the right flank, and then put a perfect through-ball to the top of the box for Gonzalez to run on to. Gonzalez saw the keeper coming off his line and chipped it over him with precision. Although the Falcons only scored one in the second half, they played well, perhaps better than the first half. They controlled the game, moving the ball extremely well from one side of the field to the other, usually through the midfield, and had good decision-making overall.
When asked after the game what he thought of the team’s performance, Coach Johnstone said, “It was a good game to finish off 2014 and go into the break. Waleed is definitely showing that he can finish. It is just a shame he never came out before his senior year. Had he done so, who knows how good he might have been. I was glad to see we moved the ball relatively well, but we still need to work on our decision making in the last third, and obviously our finishing.”
Head Coach Scott du Feu added, “The boys played well considering they had just come off a week of exams. Often, we don’t play well in a game following the exams. Players are usually mentally exhausted after rigorous studying and late nights, and it shows in their performance. However, today we looked strong, and did many of the things we will need to do come playoff-time. We still need to stop forcing the ball down the middle, stop trying to chip it in over the top to the forwards, and make better shooting decisions. While it is true you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, we are trying to hit from way too far out, way too much of the time!” du Feu also added, “Although Luca Giberti didn’t get some much-needed game practice (after a long sidelining injury), it was nice to see how well the team did defensively not allowing the Heat to have any clear cut chances. And Luca also gets the shut out.”
The Falcons play again the day school resume, Wednesday, January 7th at home against MAST. The Falcons currently stand at 11-3-3.
In the second half, the Falcons would add just one to their tally, through Senior Miguel Gonzalez. Sophomore Bobby Alvarez made a strong run down the right flank, and then put a perfect through-ball to the top of the box for Gonzalez to run on to. Gonzalez saw the keeper coming off his line and chipped it over him with precision. Although the Falcons only scored one in the second half, they played well, perhaps better than the first half. They controlled the game, moving the ball extremely well from one side of the field to the other, usually through the midfield, and had good decision-making overall.
When asked after the game what he thought of the team’s performance, Coach Johnstone said, “It was a good game to finish off 2014 and go into the break. Waleed is definitely showing that he can finish. It is just a shame he never came out before his senior year. Had he done so, who knows how good he might have been. I was glad to see we moved the ball relatively well, but we still need to work on our decision making in the last third, and obviously our finishing.”
Head Coach Scott du Feu added, “The boys played well considering they had just come off a week of exams. Often, we don’t play well in a game following the exams. Players are usually mentally exhausted after rigorous studying and late nights, and it shows in their performance. However, today we looked strong, and did many of the things we will need to do come playoff-time. We still need to stop forcing the ball down the middle, stop trying to chip it in over the top to the forwards, and make better shooting decisions. While it is true you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, we are trying to hit from way too far out, way too much of the time!” du Feu also added, “Although Luca Giberti didn’t get some much-needed game practice (after a long sidelining injury), it was nice to see how well the team did defensively not allowing the Heat to have any clear cut chances. And Luca also gets the shut out.”
The Falcons play again the day school resume, Wednesday, January 7th at home against MAST. The Falcons currently stand at 11-3-3.
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