The coed soccer team was defeated, 0-1, on Feb. 8 in a close game against Buckingham Charter High School.
But despite the loss, coach Matt Vargo said that the team played extremely well.
“Sometimes in soccer the score doesn’t reflect what happened on the field,” Vargo said.
“We outplayed Buckingham in every facet except the score.”
Sophomore Alyssa Valverde agreed, saying that the team worked to keep their defense strong despite the aggressive competition.
However, Valverde said the game’s difficulty was heightened by the absence of many of their most valuable players, including sophomore Sandor Pelle, junior Jack Christian and senior Theo Kaufman, who are often key to the team’s defense.
Therefore, Vargo said that the other players “(really) stepped up.”
According to Valverde, the game’s result ultimately came down to the referees.
“They called (senior) Nate Jakobs offsides when he was about to make a goal,” Valverde said.
“If they hadn’t called it, we would have tied the game.”
Jakobs agreed, saying that the call was “questionable,” and senior Sahej Claire called it “extremely frustrating.”
But despite this setback, Jakobs acknowledged that the team did play well.
“Their goal was just a lucky finish,” Jakobs said.
And Claire said that their opponents knew the game was going to be tough from the beginning.
“Last time, we played them away and tied, 2-2,” Claire said.
“So right from the start everyone was going all (out). You could tell Buckingham was frustrated because we were playing so hard.”
The team’s next game is Tuesday, Feb. 13, against Western Sierra Collegiate Academy at Western Sierra at 3:30 p.m.
—By Anna Frankel
