Islanders Play Besant Hill in Soccer
Here is a report written by some of the students on our soccer team:
What we saw on Thursday afternoon was a team that is the result of more than three years of hard work. It is the continuous blend between experienced players and younger teammates with a clear vision for the future, and where every player takes part in the whole team. During the past couple of days, culminating on Thursday afternoon, the Anacapa School prepared for the passionate event where they would clash against the Besant Hill team.
The Anacapa philosophy is one that focuses on the friendly relations between teammates, which is more important for the team as a whole rather than merely focusing on playing a game on the field. And as our coach Hugo said before the game, “Guys, it’s not about winning, it’s about having fun.” This year’s team includes: Emilia Artusio, Julio Bernal, Thomas Brand, Megan Eckert, Kassidy Hession, Timmy Johnson, Lara Kostruba, Colin Lancashire, Esai Macario, Isaac Macario, Heather McCue, Ryan Reish, Debbie Throop, Dylan Trujillo, Diego Villarreal, and Joaquin Zarate.
The game started off with high tensions. Two minutes into the game, Dylan cleared the ball after a counter attack which resulted in the injury of a player from Besant Hill. It was not long after the opening whistle that Thomas was able to score with a great through pass from Esai. Thomas paced down the penalty area and struck the ball into the net, scoring his first goal with Anacapa.
Anacapa kept on dominating the game with their usual style of play. On the 20th minute, Joaquin passed a lovely ball into Esai’s chest, who brought it down and hit it into the goal. Ten minutes later, Dylan lobbed a forty yard ball in behind Besant Hill’s defense, leaving Joaquin one-on-one with the keeper, and he managed to score the goal. Besant Hill also scored a goal, concluding the first half.
At the beginning of the second half, Besant Hill came out with everything. The Anacapa team took the foot off the pedal, which resulted in Besant Hill’s second goal, inching them closer to tying the game. Anacapa hung in there but that was not enough to stop Besant Hill from tying the game. Towards the end, Anacapa had several opportunities to break the tie, including a chest pass that Esai gave to Dylan, who shot the ball, but it was deflected away by Besant Hill’s defense.
The Anacapa Team, being the underdog, managed to keep their heads up after tying to a team whom they had lost to the year before.
“I think we played a great game, despite only having 12 players for this game.” – Isaac
“I thought we got out to a strong start, but the fatigue got to us, but even then I still knew we couldn’t lose.” – Esai
“This game was ours to win, it was in our hands, but that’s life. I am proud of every player out there and I will miss representing my school next year.” – Dylan (graduating senior)
“I think the team did well. We deserved to win, but things don’t always work out, that’s just something we have to deal with. I still had fun.” – Joaquin
For some more great action shots from the game, please see our Facebook page.