The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon

The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon

The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon

Boys Soccer Misses Opportunities, Loses 1-2 to Woodside

The varsity boys soccer team lost 1-2 to Woodside High School today, February 22 in the first round of CCS playoffs. The Eagles, who came into the game with a record of 9-2-7 against Woodside’s 11-7-2, dominated the first half of the game but missed several opportunities to close the 1-2 gap by the end of the second half.

The Eagles put pressure on the Woodside goalie from the start. Junior Josh Stephens created multiple opportunities to score with his throw-ins, however, the Eagles failed to capitalize on them, sending missed headers and shots that just sailed over the goal.

The latter part of the first half was action packed–great defense on both sides limited opportunities for the ball to get past even midfield. When Eagles broke through with fantastic passes up the field, the ball missed every time. LAHS looked like it would get the first goal of the game through a direct free kick by junior Ruben Hernandez, but it was caught by the Woodside goalie.

The score was still 0-0 by halftime, and the crowds became noticeably louder and more lively. However, one group of attendees stood out from the rest–dressed in formal wear, the Saint Francis High School soccer team had turned out to get a view of their next opponent: whichever team would win the first round of playoffs. The Wildcats and the Eagles did not fail to let them see some action.

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Within eight minutes of the second half, junior Harry Rojas scored the first goal, sending it over a fallen Woodside defender. Woodside also amped up its own offense, sending the ball up the field only to be turned back by the LAHS defense.

However, Woodside then increased its pressure on goalie senior Lucas Champenois, and while he was far in front of the goal defending from a previous shot, sent the ball straight behind him and scored. The Eagles also did not give up, yet could not capitalize. Freshman Andy Sartor shot a ball that bounced off the top of the goal, while Harry moved the ball up the field only to be obstructed by the Woodside defender.

After stopping a corner shot by the Eagles, Woodside found an opening in the LAHS defense, and with 20 minutes left, took the lead 2-1. As the clock ticked on, LAHS desperately tried to capitalize on their opportunities to score. Lucas passed to Ruben, who sent the ball to junior Eddie Sartor, who then kicked a shot that barely sailed over the goal. Josh then tried scoring with a header off a corner shot from Ruben, but also missed. The Eagles’ season ended with the loss to Woodside.

“I don’t think this game reflects the whole season,” Coach Vava Marquez said. “We had an early goal, but we couldn’t capitalize on the momentum.”

The Eagles, who started this season with the loss of eight starters, have had to rebuild the team this year. The team has already surpassed expectations so far and expects to go farther next year.

“We had a very young team this year, but that means we’ll have a very good team next year,” Marquez said.

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