By Rebecca Do & Jonathan Tran
On Saturday, the girls’ soccer team went head to head with the Northwood Timberwolves and Granite Cougars in the Best of the West Soccer Tournament, hosted at Fountain Valley High School (FVHS). The team won both matches with a score of 1-0 and 3-2, respectively. This would bring the Barons’ season score to 5-0-1, undefeated in all matches, with an additional victory on Tuesday against Cypress, to a 6-0-1 record.
Junior captain Kayla Knoob played an incredibly strong offense in both games without sacrificing teamwork and was one of the pillars of the game.
The first half commenced at 8 a.m., the Timberwolves would play well offensively, nearly netting in a series of goals, but with no success due to a myriad of corner kicks and defense methods from the Barons. The scoreboard was tied, ending 0-0.
Through the second half, the Timberwolves tried to score again but were blocked by senior goalie captain Nylah Mirshafiei. Knoob scored the first and only goal of the game at 12 minutes.
“First half, we kept giving a lot of turnovers and I think that really made us defend a lot, so we had to chase. But [in the] second half, we really focused on keeping the ball, we just tried to keep it as much as possible. I think we did good at changing our attitude after the goal,” Knoob said.
The second half of the game would end with a score of 1-0, bringing the Barons 1-0 in the tournament.
The Barons played their second game at 2 p.m. against Granite Hills. The first half of the match was tough as the Barons repeatedly stayed on the defensive.
In the first half, the Cougars were lethal, pouncing on any opportunity at holding possession of the ball and moving the ball up the field for shots at the net. The Barons were forced to defend for the majority of the first half, conceding two goals in the process.
The second half would reverse the roles of the two teams, as the Barons took the offense, and hit hard. Their response to Granite Hills’s initial lead was an aggressive comeback of three back-to-back goals, with their opponent now fully on retreat and playing in defensive mode.
With 20 minutes left, the Barons would score their first goal by Knoob, who drove the ball up an open field and managed to slide the ball past the goalie. Knoob would later score another one at the 35-minute mark and Duong finished off the game off an assist by senior Jordan Rodecker, tipping the scales with only five minutes till the game’s end and upsetting the score to 3-2.
“They communicated and they battled. When we didn’t have possession, they were stepping to players, they were tackling hard and when they made a mistake they were chasing players down and recovering,” head coach Julie Scheppele said. “I think we could get better at just slowing down a little, connecting passes and possessing a little bit more.”
The team plays two home matches this week and prepares for their next match-up in the Best of the West tournament on Saturday, Dec. 17, hosted at FVHS again.
