On Tuesday, May 20, McLean’s boys varsity soccer came out to play against Washington-Liberty High School on Highlander home turf. As the favorites to win the District, the Highlanders were excited about the game, however Washington-Liberty has been a strong competitor throughout the season so nothing was certain.
“It’s just a mindset,” senior forward Ada Karatepe said. “It was district semifinals, and it’s time for playoffs, so it was time to finally lock in.”
Immediately after the clock started, McLean was dominating possession, keeping the ball on the offensive side of the field. Not long into the game, Karatepe scored on an impressive solo run in from the right side of the field, putting the Highlanders up 1-0.
This pattern of control continued throughout the first half, with McLean on a constant attack, giving the Generals only one good chance to score, which they missed. The half ended with not much additional action, and the Highlanders winning 1-0.
Karatepe was still playing over the top, demonstrating a high level of skill, and just nine minutes into the second half, he got fouled in the box, burying the penalty kick into the corner of the goal. McLean was now up 2-0, holding all momentum.
Shortly after, Karatepe stole the ball in the box, scoring again for a personal hat-trick, and a 3-0 lead for the Highlanders. McLean continued to maintain control of the game, and a good pass from Karatepe to senior forward Joe Margita led to a goal by Margita straight into the bottom right corner of the goal. McLean now led Washington-Liberty 4-0.
“After my second goal, the back wing definitely opened up, and that was a good time for Joe and me to flip the switch,” Karatepe said. “And we definitely did that.”
McLean’s defense was working hard the entire game, and the Generals were unable to score, leading to a shutout. Repeating the same process, a strong pass to Margita from Karatepe led to another goal by Margita, and the game ended with a Highlander win, 5-0.
“As long as we play our game, we’re the only team that is going to beat ourselves,” assistant coach Alexander McNabb said. “Everything we allowed the other team to have, we gave them their chances tonight. As long as we play our game, there is no one in the state that can handle us.”
McLean boys varsity soccer will play again at home on Thursday, May 22 at 6:30 against Herndon High School for the Liberty District final. Herndon has traditionally been McLean’s most difficult competitor, and the Highlanders have only beat the Hornets in one out of four finals in the past three years. With such a strong team this year, McLean hopes they will be able to win the game, and with it the Liberty District title.
“I think we don’t need to adjust to any team,” Karatepe said. “I think they need to adjust to us and how we play because I don’t think there’s a single team in the state right now that can stop us.”
