Lions boys varsity soccer were blown out in their first home game of the season on Sept. 12 against rival Berman Hebrew Academy Cougars by a score of 6-0.

Berman opened the scoring a few minutes in when junior Jaim Magendzo broke the ball past senior goalie Zachary Gordon and into the back of the net to make it 1-0. Berman continued its dominance on the scoreboard with three more goals during the first half, all of which were scored by Magendzo.

The Lions started the second half with strong defense to prevent the Cougars from scoring another goal until around 23 minutes into the second half, when the Cougars added onto their lead. The Cougars added a final goal before the contest came to an end.

The Lions did not find many chances to score, and they were stuck defending for much of the game. Their best chance came when sophomore forward Ryan Bauman shot the ball past Berman goalie senior Jordan Lamar, but it clanked off the crossbar and the Cougars cleared the miss.

This was a tough loss against the Lions’ arch rival and it did not sit well with the players, but head coach Stephen Forestieri said that there was something to learn from it.

“I think the losses give you a chance to really reflect on what you can change, what you can do better, and motivate you to do better the next game,” Foresteri said.

The Lions have no wins and two losses this season. The team plays again at home on Thursday against the McLean Mustangs.