The varsity boys soccer team defeated Saratoga High School 2-0 last Friday, January 17, in its first game in the De Anza Division this year. While the team is starting the league season on a good foot with a 1-0-0 record, it has been struggling to maintain this dominant position in out-of-season games. The team currently holds a 4-5-1 record overall, but hopes to bolster its performance with more rigorous training.

“We haven’t been too tight defensively and let in goals that are mistakes on our own part,” junior Max de Visser said. “I believe that some hard work in practice, which hasn’t been there all the way so far, will help solve this.”

The team is keen to work on aspects of its game, like communication and shot-taking.

“We’re trying to get more connection between the different lines of players. It seemed like the defenders, midfielders, and attackers were all doing their own thing,” Max said. “We also are working on getting more shots—just getting them towards the net sets up a goal scoring attitude that wins games.”

Despite their performances earlier in the season, the Eagles put out a great effort against the Falcons, working past their earlier slump.

“We were taking a lot more shots than previously,” Max said. “We didn’t dribble as much as we had in earlier games, instead passing the ball, saving our energy and making defending a much more difficult task for the other team.”

The Eagles effort paid off, as shown by their 2-0 win. The team hopes to use this game’s momentum to defeat its rival, the Mountain View Spartans, this Wednesday, January 22.