SM Girls Soccer Beats Santa Barbara
Our girls soccer team played against cross-town rivals Santa Barbara at their field on Tuesday, January 9. Our royals maintained possession for the majority of the first half of the game and moved the ball around well. Even though they connected passes well, they were unable to get any shots on goal. It was a competitive fight and they continued to defend and were overall solid in the first half of the game.
In the second half of the game, our Royals continued taking the lead, as they took more scoring chances which inevitably won them the game. They started to play more direct and they were a lot more aggressive in the final third of the field.
“We were working hard and fighting together and that gave me the opportunity to score,” said sophomore Zeina Matni. “It all happened so fast, I had the ball and dribbled toward one of the defenders then I cut the ball back and then took the chance and shot and it was a goal.”
After this goal the players had more chances and shots on the goal but unfortunately didn’t score.
Matni said, “Then a moment of brilliance took play from Alexis Fell when she sprinted into the box and got on the ball, all of the defenders gave up on the play, but she kept going and shot the ball to get us the goal that made the difference in winning the game.”
Our Royals fought hard the whole game and played with heart which was the final aspect that set them apart from the other team to win the game
Matni said, “It was a must win game because it was our rivals and it was worth all of our effort on the field.” Be sure to come to the game to support our girls on Thursday on the 11th at home against Pacifica High School.
SM Boys Soccer Defeats the Dons
On January 9, boys soccer hosted cross-town rivals the Santa Barbara Dons. For the majority of the game, it seemed like a 0-0 tie was unavoidable. The Royals’ stellar goalie senior Rodolfo Ramirez helped defeat the Dons by blocking potential scores, and it was junior Jose Ramirez who brought the Royals ahead with less than 10 minutes left on the clock to take home the win.
“I think the rest of the season will go well,” said center-back senior Steven Bradley. “We have a good team and good chemistry. Our goal is to win the league by trying harder due to playing more challenging teams. We just gotta take it game by game.”
While plenty of games are left in the season, seeing them sweep the Dons and beat the Chargers will hopefully lead to yet another Channel League win and another trip to the CIF playoffs. Make sure to watch their next game on January 29, which is at home!
