Samo Boys Soccer Fights to tie against Mira Costa

On Friday, Dec 15, Samo’s boys soccer team faced Mira Costa High School on their home turf. Samo battled hard and tied 1-1 against one of the best Division One teams in Southern California.From the minute the whistle blew, the game was extremely high paced. Mira Costa was looking for an early goal to prove themselves as a competitive team, while Samo wanted to gain momentum and come out fierce. Both teams had multiple opportunities to score, but the two sides’ skilled defenses stopped them from putting points on the scoreboard.The game remained 0-0 and the ball flew back and forth across the field. With several shots on goal but no capitalization, the game was tied 0-0 th the end of the first half. Samo’s goalkeeper Nate Comay (’19) remarked how strategies they had learned in practice helped them compete against this tenacious team.“I think we really excelled in winning balls in the air and counter-attacking. Also, set plays and throw-ins really helped us today. We worked on this everyday in practice--especially the long throw-ins--particularly for this game, because we knew this was the only way we could beat [Mira Costa],” Comay said. The second half remained as high-intensity as the first. Early on in this half, Samo’s left wing Justin Bautista (’19) was given a red card and had to leave the field. This meant that for the majority of the second half, the team had to play with only 10 men (instead of the usual 11).Although this penalty was costly to the team, they showed that they could bounce back. About halfway through the second half, forward Sean Flood (’19) received a ball from the right side of the field and kicked it in the corner through a slew of Mira Costa defenders. With this goal, Samo was put on top with a 1-0 lead. Comay recalls the excitement this goal created for the team.“This was a really big deal, considering we got a red card with 30 minutes to go. It really shows how we always keep fighting,” Comay said.  However, less than five minutes later with 15 minutes to go, Mira Costa had a throw-in on the right side. The ball bounced in the goal box several times, and in the midst of the many players trying to make contact with the ball, a Mira Costa player kicked it into the side net and tied the game 1-1. Now, both teams could almost taste a victory, and were set on scoring to win the game. With five minutes to go, Samo fouled a Mira Costa athlete right outside the penalty box, but the free-kick was deflected and regained by Samo. Mira Costa had several close goals towards the end but each shot was blocked skillfully by goalkeeper Comay. After a long, hard-fought match, Samo came out with a 1-1 tie. The team was happy with this outcome, as last year they suffered a 4-1 loss on Mira Costa’s home turf. Flood wants to use this positive result to gain motivation for games to come.“I think this is a good sign for the upcoming season and we should definitely be excited for our next matches,” Flood said.While Samo proved they have what it takes to compete against some of the best teams in the area, they are constantly working on areas to improve. With a strong pre-season thus far, Samo boys soccer is eager to prove themselves during league and CIF.