Boys’ soccer drops fifth straight game to McIntosh
A Panther player dribbles down the field headed toward the goal. They lost to McIntosh 3-1, dropping the Starr’s Mill’s record to 7-6-0. “We scored first and that gave us momentum starting the game off,” senior Jack Van Nimwegen said. “Our goal is to press more and score more in the next game.”
April 21, 2016
“We knew going in it would be a tough game and we knew there was a good chance of us going down,” junior Patrick Bonilla said. “We just hoped to keep it from happening so quickly.”
On April 15, the Panthers lost to the McIntosh Chiefs 3-1 and finished out the regular season with another 2-1 loss against Walton yesterday, dropping their record to 7-7-0 overall and 8-3-0 in the region.
They have lost six straight matches, and their loss to McIntosh puts them at fourth in the region.
Panther player dribbles toward the goal trying to avoid McIntosh’s defense. Despite the hard, physical game, the Panthers surrendered three goals in the loss. Starr’s Mill now sits fourth in the region and will travel to Columbus in the first round of state playoffs on April 26.
“We scored first and came out strong [in the McIntosh game],” senior Jack Van Nimwegen said. “But toward the end of the game, we let them have too much space but still fought hard.”
Sophomore Santiago Espinosa scored the first goal in the 11th minute from the top corner of the box. McIntosh came back two minutes later, scoring their first goal off of a corner kick, sending it past freshman goalkeeper Michael Lantz in the bottom corner of the goal.
The Chiefs and the Panthers constantly fought for possession of the ball, but in the 26th minute, McIntosh scored their second goal of the game from just inside the box.
“At halftime we talked about pressing and not letting them gain very many points,” Bonilla said. “We went into the half not focusing as much on offense but mostly defense.”
In the second half, pressure was put on Lantz, and McIntosh was able to score the third goal in the 29th minute. The Panthers couldn’t find a way to score another goal, but they managed to keep a tough opponent at a low score.
“We plan on passing the ball around more to try to create more opportunities in the playoffs,” Van Nimwegen said.
The game was a brutal physical fight and the Panthers did not come out with a victory, but despite the loss, the Panthers still sit fourth in the region and will face Columbus in the first round of the state playoffs on April 26. The match begins at 6 p.m. at Columbus State.
Their next game is tonight at home against Stockbridge. The match begins at 5:55 p.m. as part of a varsity soccer doubleheader that will honor the senior athletes.
