Players join each other in a huddle at halftime.
A Feb. 3 match between Aragon’s varsity boys soccer team (9-3-6 overall, 4-0-4 Peninsula Athletic League-Bay) and Menlo-Atherton (4-5-6 overall, 3-3-2 PAL-Bay) resulted in a 2-2 tie.
“I think we played hard, and we made two or three [mistakes] that ended up tying the game but … I can’t fault the effort, especially after we got scored on … the second half,” said head coach Joe Rousseau. “[We are] just learning lessons.”
As the team prepared for the startoff, in spite of the light rain, the Dons had an energetic team huddle. In the beginning of the game, the Bears had control, taking the majority of the possessions. Less than 15 minutes into the game, the Bears scored their first goal from the corner kick back to the center and shot through the tight corner of the goal.
Even though Aragon had a few goal attempts, most of them were out of control, resulting in out-of-bounds.
Near the end of the first half, MA also had multiple goal attempts, but senior goalkeeper Lukas Peschke was able to save them all by pressuring the attackers in front of the goal.
With only six minutes left in the first half, senior striker Alex Lopez scored from the corner when the goalkeeper was out of position.
At the beginning of the second half, MA had full control over the ball, with Aragon barely being able to bring the ball across the mid-field. However, as the field was getting dark and cloudy, Lopez was able to outrun the defenders and make an easy goal.
Aragon continued to attack despite the lead. However, with less than four minutes left in the game, Menlo-Atherton scored another goal with a cross and ended the game with a tie.
Since Burlingame, who is second in the Peninsula-Bay league, had lost a game against Carlmont that night, Aragon is keeping its top position in the Bay League.
“I think we are still ahead by three points, but it is still going to be a tight finish,” Rousseau said. “If we had won tonight, all we had to do was win against Hillsdale, and we would’ve won the league.”
Aragon has high expectations this year because last year, they won the Central Coast Section Division I title.
“We lost some key players but I think this year, the team plays [differently],” Rousseau said. “We rely on different ways of getting results but all in all I think we’re just [as] strong as last year.”
This year, Rousseau made changes to the team formation.
“We are playing a 4-4-2, [whereas] last year we played 4-3-3,” Rousseau said. “We are playing with a little more pressing. We have very good defenders so we can get them more exposed and try to put teams under pressure.”
Additionally, the new formation does not only allows the team to pressure, but also makes the midfield strong.
“We have four in the midfield so any time the ball is in the middle, we overload and beat most teams,” said senior midfielder Brenden Pineda. “If you win the midfield, you win the game.”
The team usually has two practices per week and two games per week.
“Mondays are usually heavier practices, Tuesdays [are] more tactical and then Thursdays we do film,” Rousseau said.
The team’s goal is similar to last year’s.
“[Our goal is] just [to] keep improving … and strive to be at the top of the table, striving for … CCS,” Rousseau said.
The Dons’ next home game is against Carlmont (7-6-3 overall, 4-3-1 PAL) on Feb. 10 at 4:30 p.m.
