A match between the top two teams in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay division, Aragon (10-4-4 overall, 4-1-2 PAL)* and Burlingame (12-0-4 overall, 5-0-3 PAL)*, ended in a 2-2 tie on Jan. 28. Despite the Dons being down 0-2 with only 10 minutes left, senior forward David Espinoza scored a goal to narrow the lead and senior midfielder and co-captain Alexis Villanueva scored the game-tying goal one minute into extra time over the goalkeeper’s outstretched arms.
The game did not start out in the Dons’ favor as Burlingame controlled the ball for the majority of the first half. An early goal gave Burlingame a 1-0 lead that Aragon did not immediately respond to.
Aragon’s offense was more passive at the beginning of the game, with Aragon patiently trying to find their way through Burlingame’s defense. Villanueva, who leads the PAL in points, assists and goals, in particular was less aggressive going toward the goal.
“Coach told me my sophomore year [that] soccer is not all about scoring,” Villanueva said. “It is also about making the best decision on the field. When it would come to a 2v1, instead of shooting, I would look to pass the ball and look for my teammates to score.”
Coming out of halftime, Aragon could not penetrate Burlingame’s defense and another Burlingame goal seemingly put the game out of reach. However, Espinoza’s goal at the 70 minute mark changed the team’s energy and gave them a boost.
“I call it a kind of miracle and it created energy for us,” said head coach Joe Rousseau.
As time dwindled, the Dons frantically tried to tie the game. They had multiple shots on goal but couldn’t connect on any of them until Villanueva scored on a transition play in extra time.
The Dons also had multiple chances on goal with free kicks throughout the game but couldn’t score with any of them, missing them high or wide right.
A year after finishing second in the PAL with a 6-2-3 PAL record, the Dons have started off strong again, currently second in the PAL.
“One of our major strengths is our depth,” said junior midfielder Arav Agarwal. “We have a lot of players who have played on club [teams] and have been playing for a long time.”
However, injuries and growing team chemistry have prevented the Dons from reaching their full potential.
“It’s been difficult, to be honest,” Rousseau said. “But players are stepping up and putting in minutes when it’s their chance and I’m proud of the guys that have stepped up.”
At the beginning of the season, team members suffered from their lack of chemistry.
“We tried to have chemistry naturally build through preseason, [but] that didn’t work, so we decided to have a couple of practices,” said senior goalkeeper Taj Gadiraju. “I believe that those practices will be integral in achieving great results from our games.”
Through these practices and games, the team was able to build up its cohesion.
“We realized that even though we have a lot of talent, it’s going to take a lot of concentration and determination and dedication from us,” said senior winger and co-captain Brendan Sinclair. “We [needed] to come together as a team and show more leadership if we were going to be successful.”
The Dons hope to continue their recent success in their next away game against Carlmont (6-5-3 overall, 3-4-1 PAL)* on Feb. 11 at 4:30 p.m.
*Records as of Feb. 7
