Season Ends in Disappointing Loss

Photo Credit: Russell Gurman

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Written by Russell Gurman

After barely making the CCS playoffs, the Bears were determined to surprise everybody and defeat the #5 ranked Santa Clara Bruins. They definitely surprised many with their play Wednesday afternoon.

The Bears, having won once in the last six games, were looking to prove that they belonged. However, they began their game against the Bruins as they had in almost every game this year. They had many scoring opportunities but could just not finish. Edgardo Molina almost scored midway through the first half, but the shot was collected by the Santa Clara goalie. The Bears also had terrific defense. Goalie Derek Carver stopped everything that came close to the net, including a terrific stop in which he tipped the ball up over the top of the goal. The Bears also had great defensive play by senior Gabe Kaplan. Right before halftime, Jesus Garcia booted a free kick to Adam Zuckerman, whose header sailed inches wide, leaving the first half score at 0-0.

M-A picked up the intensity in the second half; they had many scoring opportunities and out-played Santa Clara. With about 9 minutes left in the game, Kaplan took a free kick that was knocked around and eventually headed in by Molina. The players, coaches, and fans went crazy, cheering as loud as they could in what they thought was a game-winning goal. During an unprecedented eight minute stoppage period, the referees called a controversial penalty inside the box, and Santa Clara capitalized, tying the game up at 1 apiece. The Bears tried to score again, but time ran out, sending the game into overtime. In the first of two overtimes, the Bears took control, but missed several shots that could have given them the lead. The second overtime, however, was all Bruins, as a seemingly routine shot slipped through Carver’s hands and into the back of the net. The goal occurred after a collision in which Aaron Oro was injured, although there was no call. However, Derek Carver found out that he had actually been playing on a broken foot for about a third of the game which occurred when he was shoved after making a save and landing awkwardly.  It was a tough loss, but on the bright side, “we didn’t lose that game, we had it stolen from us by the refs,” said senior captain Gabe Kaplan.