On Thursday night, McLean’s boys varsity soccer team took on the Fairfax Lions in their second of five consecutive away matches. The Highlanders were coming off of a four-game winning streak that had ended in their most recent match as they only managed to tie the Madison Warhawks.
The Highlanders aimed to start quickly after their previous game ended with zero goals. This goal came to fruition in the form of a spectacular bicycle kick from senior defender Mikel Molina after a long throw-in from senior defender Will Saxon to put McLean ahead after just five minutes.
Midfield domination from senior Rafa Cabral and juniors Charlie Lannin and Luke Hamel led to Fairfax not being able to get the ball past the halfway point. The three of them created chance after chance for the Highlander forwards, who struggled to get good shots off due to good defending from the Lions back line.
Eventually, with ten minutes left in the half, senior forward Arman Badipour took the ball into the box and got fouled, winning a penalty for McLean. At this point, it seemed like the wheels were coming off for Fairfax, who had struggled to find offense all game. Badipour stepped up to the spot, and shockingly, the Fairfax keeper was able to save the shot, which was fired towards the bottom left corner of the goal.
Despite the stunning save, McLean didn’t cease to put pressure on the Fairfax defense. Just a few minutes later, Hamel received the ball on the top right corner of the box. He took a dribble past his man and unleashed a rocket right over the keeper’s head perfectly into the bottom left corner of the net to put McLean up 2-0 to end the half.
“We had been dominant the whole first half, but just struggled to put away some chances,” head coach Leland Jameson said.
The second half started sloppily on both sides. Each team struggled to maintain possession, and there seemed to be a real lack of communication between players. McLean won a few corners, but the lack of finishing continued, keeping the Lions in the game. Eventually, McLean’s dominant play paid off as Cabral received a pass and slotted it perfectly into the bottom right corner to make it 3-0.
What followed was a flurry of goals, all from the Highlanders. McLean won back to back corner kicks, the second of which was taken by Hamel and sent in to senior forward Joe Margita who tapped it in for an easy finish. Next, senior defender Will Saxon took a throw-in, which he managed to get to the opposite end of the box and was finished by Lannin to extend the lead to 5-0. The last goal of the match came with just minutes to spare. Hamel played an impressive long ball over the top of the Fairfax defenders, which senior forward Ivan Gorban was able to score and put an end to an impressive 6-0 win for the Highlanders.
“We definitely improved from our last showing against Madison,” junior Kanta Moriyama said. “We took our chances especially in the second half and finished well.”
The Highlanders now look ahead to their final three away games of the season, where they plan to continue their dominance.
“We have some solid teams coming up like Hernon, Wakefield and Langley,” Moriyama said. “To win those games, we have to be firing on all cylinders.”
