Jason Harward, graphics editor
Boys varsity soccer came up short 2-1 in an intense home defeat at the hands of Hawthorne on Wednesday, Feb. 3.
The loss makes their record 0-7, but coach Rick Minars doesn’t see the performance as a total negative, as he was impressed by improved teamwork and fluidity on offense which culminated in a goal by sophomore Morgan Benmoshe.
“Just a general point for this varsity team throughout the entire season, even after this loss, is just working together as a team,” Minars said. “Over the past two games, even against El Segundo, since we switched our formation [and put two strikers up top], our team has created more chances and played together more in terms of fluidity on the pitch.”
The team’s only goal came off of a cross, when Benmoshe, a team captain, used a left-footed volley to nail it past the keeper. Benmoshe agreed with his coach, saying the team has stayed together through a tough season.
“We’ve created more chances and we’re all putting in more effort after we’ve lost multiple games by more than four goals, today we only let up two. We also scored our first goal of the season,” Benmoshe said.
One thing Minars praised was his team’s attack. After scoring their first goal, Minars is convinced that a two-striker formation is the best thing moving forward.
“I liked the tandem up top, the two guys up top are really working hard and it’s giving us more of an attack. Our formation allows us to keep two guys up top, and I think that’s the best thing for us moving forward,” Minars said.
The team’s final game is away against Santa Monica on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016.