Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School women’s junior varsity soccer team faced the St. Thomas Aquinas High School Raiders in their last game of the season at Cumber Stadium on Tuesday, Jan. 16. Which ended in a tie of 1-1. This past season, the Eagles went undefeated with victories against an array of teams. The Raiders, while not being undefeated, have had successful games.
The game began with the Eagles having the ball, and both teams were playing defensively. There were numerous shot opportunities, but neither team was able to take advantage of them. With the pressure on during the second quarter, the Raiders scored their first goal of the game. After halftime, they came back with a more offensive playing style.
“I always have to give it to them; they show up for games like they are there,” Head coach Donna DeStefano said.
During the third quarter, the Eagles stepped up their game. The Eagles’ defensive strategy had changed a lot from the first half of the game.The ball would not make it past the Eagles’ defenders, taking the ball from the Raiders every time they tried. As both teams went deeper into the game, a corner kick for the Eagles seemed like a very promising chance for a goal, but the ball was overshot by center midfielder Samantha Arias (15) and went out of bounds.
As the fourth quarter began, the pressure was on. With time running out, the Eagles started putting pressure on the Raiders defense. Forward Bree McWilliams (9) managed to score a goal for the Eagles to tie the game.
“I was really impressed with Bree,” DeStefano said. “Particularly because I know she is dealing with an injury, but she came out super aggressive and scored the one that tied it up.”
The final game of the season ended with a draw of 1-1, with the Eagles’ determination tying up the close game in the end, still effectively ending their undefeated streak to close out the season.
“I think the game went well, but the first half was kind of slow,” center midfielder Samantha Arias said. “We could have done a lot better, but in the second half, we really kicked it up.”
While overall, the Eagles were satisfied with the game’s outcome, they felt disappointed in their performance in the first half of the game. The team believes if they played the entire game with the intensity and aggression they had after halftime, there would have been a better result.
“I do not see the best of them at practice, but I have concerns that they could be even better if they gave 100% at practices,” DeStefano said.
Going into next season, DeStefano believes if the team puts in the effort during practice, they will see significant improvements in future games.
