Varsity soccer finishes Sood Memorial with loss

Head coach James Baker gave boys varsity soccer a stern talking to post-game. He emphasized that the players needed to love their teammates more and connect with them on and off the field after they dropped their final game in the Sood Memorial tournament Jan. 13 to the Hendrickson Hawks, 0-3.

“The reality is, we are in a situation where we are trying to learn to be a team,” Baker said. “Sometimes you have these little setbacks where things don’t go your way. That’s really what happened today.”

The Chaps’ passing was a glaring weakness which cost them most of the time of possession. They lacked creativity on the ball and were dispossessed often, especially in the second half, where they registered only one shot.

Hendrickson put up 20 shots, 11 of which were on-target, while the Chaps only managed nine shots with four of them on-target.

“Team chemistry just comes down to playing more,” defender senior Gavin Gochnour said. “The more we play together, the better we will start to gel as a team. It also comes through bonding. We have our spirit dinners where we get to know each other, and we just have to work together for a longer time.”

Goalkeeper senior Sam Laude was given a yellow card in the 68th minute for arguing with an official as the Chaps’ frustration grew with each minute that passed.

“We had our opportunities [in the first half], but we just have to be a little more ruthless in front of the net,” Baker said. “We tried to do too much in the second half. We overextended ourselves, and they took advantage on the [counter-attack].”

The Hawks were clinical from short distance, as all three of their goals came from close-range shots. They went ahead in the 16th minute and added on two more  goals in the second half to put the game out of reach.