Boys’ Soccer Falls to Holderness
The boys’ varsity soccer team lost 1-2 against Holderness School last Saturday, marking its eighth loss of the season. Exeter’s record now stands at five wins, three ties and eight losses. The Holderness game was very much representative of the team’s performance in other games this season—strong and aggressive but bogged down by an inability to score.
The boys controlled the game for the majority of the 90 minutes, possessing the ball well and generating many scoring chances. “We dominated the play,” explained upper Silas Lane. Thanks to a great strike from new senior Ignacio Roitman, the team scored one well-deserved goal, while also playing solid defense and limiting the chances of the opposing team.
The first goal that Holderness scored was from a “questionable penalty kick,” according to senior and captain Quintin DiStefano. Holderness’ second goal came from a mistake between two of Exeter’s players, which resulted in a turn over just feet from the net. Lane recalled that “in a seemingly danger free situation, our center back headed it all off our own post, into the path of a Holderness striker.” He continued, saying “it wasn’t anyone’s fault, just a combination of really bad luck and little to no communication.”
However, the many chances Exeter generated could not translate into goals and Holderness took advantage of this. “Holderness had quality, but their two goals reflected our poor luck and defensive error more than their skill as a team,” Lane said.
Though the Holderness game comes as yet another disappointing loss for the soccer team this season, the boys are still determined to finish out the season strong. “We aren’t dwelling on the game, as we have all season,” DiStefano said.
He continued, saying “it wasn’t anyone’s fault, just a combination of really bad luck and little to no communication.”
“We simply move on and train hard to prepare for the next game,” he added. According to Lane, the team has been preparing by playing small sided games in practice and working on a combination of play and finishing.
The team hopes that its hard work all season will pay off in its game against Andover this weekend. After being defeated by Andover in a crushing 2-3 loss last year, the upcoming game will certainly be a challenge, but if the boys continue their strong playing and minimize defensive errors while following through on scoring chances, they could come away with a victory.