On Monday, April 22, the Issaquah Boys’ Soccer C Team played an aggressive and exciting game against the Redmond Mustangs, resulting in a 3-0 win for the Issaquah Eagles. The first half of the game started weak for Issaquah who quickly began to falter against the Mustang’s strong offense as they took possession of the ball. This resulted in physical contact between an Issaquah and Redmond player one minute into the game. Despite a rough start, the Issaquah Eagles pulled it together with spectacular defensive play from number four, freshman Rishin Tandon. However, Redmond refused to back down, and both teams reached a stalemate with back-and-forth plays with a few saves from each respective goalie.
Things began to heat up as both teams began playing more aggressively, leading to scuffles and more contact and shoves. The Eagles pulled together and demonstrated better communication and their chance to finally turn the game came when they were rewarded a free kick, which resulted in a goal, Issaquah 1-0. Despite getting yellow-carded for questioning offsides the Issaquah Eagles pulled through the first half in their favor.
The second half started with renewed energy from Redmond who gained possession almost immediately; however, the Eagles showed great offensive plays and blocked Redmond’s advances. Things began to look down on Redmond as the goalie violated the back-pass rule, resulting in a foul and a free kick for the Eagles. The Eagles took advantage of the opportunity, putting the scoreboard at 2-0.
The last 10 minutes of the game took a slower turn with both teams pulling out intense plays in order to score as Redmond intercepted passes and Issaquah showed stronger defense. Redmond was no match for the Eagles who scored for the third and final time in the game by player twenty-one with an assist by number thirty, freshman Maxi Isensee.
Overall, the Eagles’ willingness to improve and play the long game paid off, and towards the end they showed cohesive defense and offense against Redmond.
Regarding the team strategies going into the game, Head Coach Demaree Keiburtz comments,“We had to win this game. This was a major game and my strategy was to high press and not allow their defenders to survive the ball.” She adds how going forward she hopes the team will improve on staying on the intensity. One of the standout players of the night, freshman Sebastian Sengamalay, talked about the team’s performance and how they “started to play well towards the end.” Similarly, number 10, freshman Akhil Chilakala commented on the team’s strengths of the game stating how “passing and defending was our strong point.”
Congratulations to the Eagles who showed impressive skill and determination in Monday’s game. Make sure to cheer them on at their next game against Mount Si on April 29. Go Eagles!
