On Jan. 31, Aragon’s boys varsity soccer team (9-2-5 overall, 4-1-3 Peninsula Athletic League) played a tough game against Half Moon Bay (8-5-5 overall, 1-3-4 PAL) where the final score came out to be 0-0.
Both teams played great offensive and defensive games while combating the heavy rains which eventually caused a couple of injuries and mistakes out on the field.
“We were by far the better team,” said head coach Nick Carrara. “It was maybe the rain and the weather that affected [our inability to score a goal].”
Aragon started the game off strong after they won the kick-off and headed toward the goal. After a throw-in, senior Marcelo Cruz, made a couple of strong attempts to score a goal, however his strong offense wasn’t able to top Half Moon Bay’s aggressive defense.
“Half Moon Bay play [was] pretty solid,” Cruz said. “They were aggressive [and] they were winning some battles out there.”
With 30 minutes on the clock in the first half, the Dons were able to pass the ball down to their goal where Cruz was once again very close to scoring. However, due to an off-sides call, Aragon had to give up possession to Half Moon Bay who received a free kick in return.
These contested calls began to show a pattern in this game as Aragon’s offense was repeatedly called for running offsides when the team felt as if they weren’t offsides.
“I would say we were a bit unlucky,” Carrara said. “If the other team gets a little bit of luck on some saves, we should’ve [gotten] a penalty [shot], [the] ref called that it wasn’t in the box when it was five yards in the box.”
Aragon worried about receiving too many calls against their team because the team was nearing disqualification in the league due to too many red cards. If the players got too many yellow cards, they could receive a red card which would be the end of Aragon’s championship campaign.
“We had a few red cards already this season [because of] lack of judgment [and] players making mistakes in the heat of the moment,” Carrara said. “Sometimes games get like that but it’s unacceptable.”
As rain picked up, so did the competitiveness of Half Moon Bay. The Cougars were able to get the ball on their scoring side of the field a couple of times. However, the skill of Aragon’s goalkeepers grew evident after a couple of impressive saves.
The remainder of the first half was mainly played in the midfield after the two teams seemed to be a close match up in the rainy conditions on Aragon’s home turf. Aragon was surprised with the way the game was playing out because Half Moon Bay was known to be a relatively easy win for the Dons.
“We normally win [against Half Moon Bay],” Cruz said. “We expected … an easy game, but Half Moon Bay was a surprise to us … They came out strong.”
At the start of the second half, Half Moon Bay brought the ball to their side of the field. After moving the ball around the field in search of a place to attempt a shot on the goal, the Dons were able to get the ball back in their possession. However, the referees once again called an offsides on the Dons and Half Moon Bay received another free kick. They were unable to turn it into a goal.
With only 19 minutes to go in the game, senior Ian Stretch was caught in a slide-tackle and one of the referees called a foul on the Cougars, resulting in a free kick for Aragon. This free kick was Aragon’s closest shot to getting a point on the board after the ball just barely missed and hit the crossbar of the goal.
We may be in second place after this but if we win out the rest of our games, we are champions. The tie didn’t kill us.
“Our weakness was the quality of our second half,” Cruz said. “We couldn’t get the ball in the net. We had to be a little more clinical.”
As the game came to a close, Aragon saw the ball on their side of the field for most of the remaining time. After a couple of close attempts to a goal, the referees blew the whistle for a final time, ending the closely matched game with both teams unable to score a goal.
After a small bump in the road, Carrara and his team look forward to bringing the championship home for Aragon.
“Each game is [important] because it’s pretty tight right now,” Carrara said. “We may be in second place after this but if we win out the rest of our games, we are champions. The tie didn’t kill us.”
The team will continue to the CCS playoffs on Feb. 17.
