Starting off Strong

Photo Credit: Rachel Fox

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Written by Russell Gurman

Coming off a 1-0 victory over Hillsdale High School bringing their league record to 1-1, the Bears took on two tough league teams last week: Burlingame and Terra Nova.

On Wednesday the 13^th, M-A started strong and had a lot of scoring chances, but were unable to put the ball in the back of the net, while the hosting Panthers took a quick 2-0 lead. However, the bears’ Jonathan Jimenez scored to bring the Bears within one at the half. Throughout the second half, the Bears began getting physical with the Burlingame. Edgardo Molina scored two goals, including the game-winner late to give M-A a 3-2 victory over Burlingame.

After the confidence-building victory, the Bears were ready to defend their turf against powerhouse Terra Nova on Friday the 15^th. The first half however, was dull, as both teams were unable to score until near the end of the half. Francisco Sanchez scored first to give the Bears a 1-0 lead. Although they did not have many shots on goal, Sanchez scored again to put the Bears ahead for good. Rafa Patino had an outstanding game in goal, stopping the Tiger’s powerful offense.

Last Wednesday, in the pouring rain, the Bears took on the Carlmont Scots. The Bears fell behind early in the first half, 2-0 and yet again had trouble putting their chances away. Jonathan Jimenez scored off numerous deflections, bringing the Bears within one goal. Will Cabral scored near the end of the game, but it was ruled offiside. The Bears could not climb out of the 2-1 hole.

After suffering a tough loss to Carlmont, the Bears headed to San Mateo with hopes of a victory over the Bearcats. However, the Bears fell behind on a goalkeeper miscommunication with the defense. Goalie Derek Carver left the game with an injury, while Gabe Kaplan, Jesus Garcia and Gerry Cruz all received yellow cards during the game. The Bears tied the game on a goal from Edgardo Molina, who received a pass from Jesus Garcia; Molina scored again before halftime on a long pass from Gerry Cruz, putting M-A up 2-1. However, San Mateo came out strong in the second half, almost tying the game. Fortunately, the Bears defense held off the Bearcats on a corner kick that was nearly knocked in twice. Minutes after Cedric Brossard missed a shot on an open goal, Edgardo Molina scored again to complete his hat trick cementing the Bears a 3-1 victory.

The Bears’ now have a 4-2 league record, 5-3-2 overall, with league games against Woodside on Wednesday the 27^th and Sequoia on Friday the 29^th.