Boys’ soccer pushes to improve amid underwhelming season

After stealing possession of the ball in the backfield, senior striker Jeremy Krainin ran downfield with the ball, passing far up behind multiple of Milpitas’s defenders. Junior midfielder Aidan Smith sprinted upfield and received the ball, laying it off for sophomore right winger Akash Gupta right behind him, who took a difficult shot at the top right corner of the goal from outside the box.

This Feb. 7 home match against Milpitas ultimately ended with a  3-1 loss. Although the team was able to converge for an impressive goal in the first half, junior center back Itamar Shoshani said the team lost their momentum in the second half, unable to converge on multiple key possessions.

The Falcons’ loss against Milpitas was just one result amid a string of disappointing defeats. Shortly after, the Falcons fell to Los Gatos 0-3 on Feb 9. and to Lynbrook 1-3 on Feb 12.

The Falcons also lost 3-0 to Monta Vista on Feb. 2, and tied 0-0 against Lynbrook on Jan. 31, who they previously beat 6-1 on Jan 10. Despite the team’s high hopes earlier this season, CCS is no longer in reach for the team as they sit in last place out of the seven teams in the El Camino Division.

Shoshani attributed their lackluster record to the Falcons’ struggle to guard against aggressive offensive play by the opposing teams.

“One problem we’ve been experiencing is the other teams pushing forward fast, leaving our defense outnumbered,” Shoshani said.

Coach Conor McGoldrick thinks that the Falcons had the potential to win a majority of their games this season due to the team’s overall high technical skill — especially with the presence of star players like U.S. Navy commit senior striker Yul Hong. He believes that the main issue in recent games has been the team’s inability to take advantage of the momentum that they gain earlier on during their games. 

Smith agreed, noting that even when the team has opportunities to score, they struggle to secure goals.

“Every game we’ve played has been competitive, but we have been doing a bad job at finishing with the ball and getting goals on the scoreboard,”  Smith said.

Scheduling conflicts have also hindered the team, forcing them to start the season with zero preseason games played.

Although the team has been facing a rough season, the 19 players on the team are still confident in the team’s skill level and the potential for younger talent on the team — including five sophomores and eight juniors — to improve.

Moving forward towards the end of the season, the team is hoping to show out in their next games, particularly in their upcoming Feb 14. Match against Wilcox, who is second in the league with a 7-2-2 record as of Feb 13.

In hopes of ending the season off on a better note, the team is practicing with higher intensity and continuing to work on the team chemistry. During practice sessions, players are working on maintaining high energy as well as making an effort to improve on their coordination and communication.

“A big factor going forward is still making [the rest of the season] enjoyable going into our final games,” McGoldrick said. “The last thing I want to see is players’ heads dropping. It’s important to build upon [the struggles], and keep our energy high to push towards success.”