By: Web Editors Jacinta Chang and Nithya Rajeev
Led by Coach Doumbia, MSJ Soccer’s new coach this year, MSJ Boys’ Soccer secured a 1-0 victory over American High School on Friday, January 22 at Tak Fudenna Memorial Stadium. After a testing 2014 – 2015 season, this victory marked the team’s first win in nearly two years.
Going into this game, the team carried the memory of the first game of the season, in which they lost to American High School 2-1, due to a goal scored in the final minutes of play. However, the game on Friday marked a positive transition, with the team holding the lead with Senior Joshua Chan’s goal in the first half. Describing his teammate’s performance, Senior Alex Thomas said, “It is so great to have him back on our team. He gave us the goal to give us a much-needed three points [for their one goal].”
He continued, “We haven’t won a league game in two years. Two long years. This game was so big for our team. Having people in the stands, cheering us on kept us fighting on till the end. It was the most intense game of my life and I’m so happy and proud to be a part of such a great team.”
Thomas, who was named “Player of the Game” by MaxPrep and is the team’s goalkeeper, had nearly ten saves in the game. “Everyone stepped up during the game, especially Alex [Thomas] who had some of the best decision-making I’ve ever seen from a goal keeper,” said Chan.
Senior Kevin Chang said, “Every time we lose our team stayed so positive, cheering up anyone who personally felt at fault. Two years of this, we all stayed positive and looked forward, hoping to win the next one. And that has finally happened. This year we truly feel like a family and this win has been a long deserved one. I would not have spent these four years with anyone else.”
The team is optimistic as they head into the rest of the season, and this victory has given the team a much-needed wave of confidence.
Sophomore Jonathan Nguyen said, “After two years of being on this team, never have I seen us want to play, work, or win as badly as we did that night. I think that we finally obtained that connection of togetherness that we needed to get us the win. After losing by just one point every game, those extra hours of running, sweating, bleeding, crying, thinking, finally showed. I can’t be more proud to play with my team. One team, one mission.”
MSJ Boys’ Soccer will be facing off against Kennedy at 5:45 pm at TAK Fudenna Stadium later today.
