“123 Lions 456 finish!” The varsity boys soccer team yells in their huddle at halftime. They’re down 0-1, but hope to catch up and win the game.
The varsity boys soccer team beat the Sandy Spring Friends School Wildebeests 5-1 in a home game on Monday, with all five of their goals scored in the second half.
The game started with a kick-off from sophomore David Levy, leading to a shot by senior Dartmouth commit Dino Becker, which was blocked by the Wildebeests’ goalie. At the beginning of the game, the Lions mainly kept possession of the ball with more shots from Becker, but they were unable to penetrate the Wildebeests’ defense.
Toward the end of the first half, possession of the ball became more even. In an unusual delayed decision, Becker got a yellow card for fouling. After more back-and-forth, the Wildebeests sent a low far shot into the goal, making the score 0-1 with around ten minutes left in the half.
“They’re much louder than us,” Lions Head Coach Gadi Vogel told the team. “It feels like a home game for them. We need to win the environment.”
The team knew they needed to make some changes in the second half if they wanted to win. Vogel addressed the team with his feedback and advised them to be more decisive.
“He [Vogel] says we’re not playing very well,” junior Simon Bard said at halftime. “He said he knows we’re good enough to win the game so we need to stop being scared.”
For the second half, Vogel decided to move Bard and junior Dylan Kobrin, who both previously played mainly defense, to offense.
“After halftime, we had to reorganize our team,” Vogel said. “…We just had to refocus a little bit, because I could tell they were a little rattled.”
Vogel’s decision proved to be effective. Shortly into the second half, Bard scored to tie the game. Very soon after, Bard crossed to Kobrin, who touched it into the goal giving the Lions the lead.
The Lions continued to be aggressive throughout the rest of the half. Bard again crossed to assist Kobrin in a third goal, and scored again himself shortly after. Before this game, Bard hadn’t scored this season.
“After I scored the first one, I was able to have a lot more confidence,” Bard said. He finished the game with two goals and two assists.
To finish off the Lions’ successful second half, junior Coby Schlactus scored the Lions’ fifth goal. The Wildebeests were unable to get through the Lions’ defense and score again.
Throughout the game, many players consistently helped to defend against the Wildebeests. According to Vogel, junior goalie Josh Dori had a great game. Junior captain Eitan Rattner also played a role in securing the 5-1 victory.
“[In the] second half we put it all together, all we’ve worked throughout the season into one complete performance,” Vogel said.
This game brings the team’s record to 2-1-1. Vogel said that while in previous games they had shown a bit of their potential, this was their most “complete” game this season. They are set to face Spencerville on Thursday.
“We did good,” Rattner told the team after the game. “That’s how you finish a game – perfect.”
