As the clock ticked down in the final moments of the SHS varsity boys soccer game on Thursday, Sept. 14, the energy around the field was palpable. The Cards were up 3-1, the Lady Cards had won their game hours before and it was both teams’ senior night.
“(The game) was really exciting because we won,” junior forward Dieu Ebuela said.
Both the SHS varsity boys and girls soccer teams won their respective games on Thursday, with the boys playing against the Franklin Central High School Flashes and the girls playing against the Scecina Memorial High School Crusaders.
The girls game, a shutout, ended with a score of 3-0, with an SHS win.
One of these points was scored almost halfway through the first half by senior midfielder Jimena Duran Hernandez. During the first half, the Cards made most of the attempts at goals.
Girls head coach Cory Sandvold says that in honor of senior night, he tried to give as many seniors playing time as possible in the first half.
“First half, obviously we were trying to get a lot of our seniors a lot of extra playing time because it was their night,” Sandvold said. “But then (in the) second half, it was definitely about going to try to get some more goals.”
The other two points, scored in the second half, were made by senior forward Esbeydi Montes and freshman midfielder Asia Mulumba.
Mulumba, Sandvold says, is a “freshman superstar” and was a key player in the game.
“I think I played great … I think our communication went well towards the end, and our passes too,” Mulumba said.
This winning streak carried on into the boys game. While it was not a shutout, the Cards still defeated the Flashes 3-1.
The boys team scored two of their three points in the first 10 minutes of the game. With eight minutes left of the first half, the Flashes scored their first and only point.
“I thought we played a really good first 10 minutes,” boys head coach David Stroup said. “(In) the first half we got up 2-0 (and) played really well.”
By the end of the first half, the score was 2-1, with an SHS lead. Around halfway through the second half, though, Ebuela was given the chance to take a penalty kick.
Ebuela made the shot, bringing the score to 3-1, where it stayed until the end of the game.
With two wins, both teams were satisfied with their performance. And, winning on senior night made this victory even sweeter.
“The majority of (the senior girls) have been in the program for multiple years, some of them, all four years, so (it was) definitely good to get them to go out on a high note,” Sandvold said.
Even with their success, both teams hope to continue to grow, specifically learning to trust each other as players and effectively finish out a game. But, they are hopeful for the future, and for more games to end like these: in a win.
“(During the) second half we came in, played pretty well, and I think we did just enough to win,” Stroup said. “But I was happy our seniors got a win on senior night.”
