The JV white soccer team took on the Leander Lions on Friday, March 8 and suffered a 2-0 loss. The game started with a Warrior kickoff that led to them taking possession and passing around the midfield. However, the Lions took control and tried to make the first goal of the game but were stopped by Jose Sanchez ’21. The Lions had another shot that went wide of the goal and keeper Shoumik Roychowdhury ’22 saved a second one before getting the ball out of the Warriors’ territory. Some passing and teamwork in the midfield led to the first shot attempt by the Warriors which was blocked by the Lions’ goalie. Undeterred, a cross made by Alexander Broussard ’22 led to another shot that was just shy of the goal.

“I think I can work on my communication,” Rayyaan Farooqui ‘22 said. “I feel like as a defender it’s my job to keep the team on track and make sure that the formation is good because I can see everything on the field.”

Pressure from the Lions caused John O’Donnell ’22  to be fouled which led to a free kick that was caught by the Leander goalie. The Warriors fought and struggled to get through the Lions’ defense and almost brought the score up with a shot from Emanuel Molina ’21 that was again stopped by the Leander goalie. The Lions were unafraid of the sudden pressure from the Warriors and took off down the field, looking for their own scoring opportunity. The Warriors’ defense stood strong and shut down the Lions’ offense twice, saving themselves, but giving up a corner kick in the process. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the Lions scored off of the corner kick. They didn’t give up however and stopped the Lions from scoring again. After several more minutes of action the first half ended in 1-0 in favor of the Lions.

“Personally I think I can improve by not only practicing in the morning but practicing on my own time,” O’Donnell said. “[We need to] progressively get better overall in speed, agility, footwork, and shooting.”

The second half of the game started with a kick that sent the ball into Warrior territory. Molina was fouled and received a free kick that started a scramble for the ball inside the box. The Warriors had several close opportunities that were thwarted when the ball was eventually cleared. Roychowdhury dove to save a shot that he narrowly knocked out of bounds, saving the Warriors from giving up a second goal. A few minutes later, another shot from the Lions forced Roychowdhury to dive again as he defended his team’s goal. The Warriors fought back and brought the ball to the Lions’ territory but lost it due to an intercepted pass. The Lions came back down the field and scored again, bringing the score up to 2-0 with five minutes left in the game. In a last attempt at a goal, Broussard kicked the ball upfield, but the defense stopped the attack and the game ended in a heartbreaking loss of 2-0 for the Warriors.

“Next game I need more intensity in the second half,” Molina said. “Now that I’m playing the whole game, I have to keep going and strive every minute, not just at the beginning when I’m only taking shots.”

The Warriors will look for a win against the Stony Point Tigers on Tuesday, March 12 at Stony Point.