On March 26, McLean’s boys soccer team took on Westfield. They were coming off of a win versus Alexandria City in their first game of the season and looking to continue the trend.
“We played really well in our first game,” senior defender Andrew Zhang said. “Westfield is a really good team, so we knew our work was cut out for us.”
Westfield got off to a hot start. They got the ball at the top of the box and smoothly finished it into the top left corner of the net to go up 1-0 just ten minutes into the game. They continued to control possession after this and McLean struggled to break through.
The Highlanders then started to run a high press defense, where the attackers applied significant pressure to the Bulldogs defenders, and this eventually led to several chances for McLean. Senior midfielders Luke Hamel and Charlie Lannin started controlling the midfield, creating numerous opportunities for the attackers.
The ten minute period following this was a battle of possession, neither team could break through. That is until with ten minutes left in the first half, junior forward Josh Barnes broke free into the Bulldog defense, he had a one-on-one with the keeper and slotted it home calmly into the bottom left corner to end the half at 1-1.
“After the first half, we felt like we played well, but left some potential goals on the table,” Zhang said.
The second half was a back-and-forth affair, similar to the first. McLean’s offense was meshing, creating chances and breaking the defense down, but were unable to convert. They continued to control possession, but Westfield’s keeper was ready though, making several impressive saves to keep the Bulldogs alive.
Eventually though, Westfield caught McLean off guard on a counter attack. Using their numbers advantage to put the decisive goal through the net and take the lead with just 15 minutes to play. McLean was unable to come back after this and the match ended 2-1 to Westfield.
“The loss was disappointing but it’s still early in the season,” senior defender Atul Kotamoraju said. “We obviously didn’t play our best, but it’s better to get these games out of the way early in the season.”
McLean looks ahead to their next game versus Lake Braddock on April 6, where they hope to return to winning ways.
“We aren’t going to let one small bump in the road deter us from our end goal,” Kotamoraju said. “We still have the ability to be successful in the postseason and we will do everything we can to achieve that.”
