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Sports

Mount Vernon Struggles in Soccer Championship

Majors look to regroup for regionals

The Mount Vernon Majors boys’ soccer team came into Friday night’s game with a lot on their mind, and distractions off the field detracted from their play on it, as they were beaten 6-0 by the Washington-Lee Generals.  

In a tragic occurrence this afternoon, an undisclosed member of the Major squad was robbed, beaten, and hospitalized on his way to the team bus.  As if that weren’t distracting enough, the seniors also were looking forward to their prom later in the evening.

“We came in with a heavy heart,” head coach Robert Garza said afterwards. “But that is no excuse for the way we played out there tonight.”

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Washington-Lee created a great opportunity on a long ball in the opening minute, but the 1-on-1 chance was shut down by goalie Lucas Belanger.  The sophomore captain would not be as fortunate a few minutes later as a Washington-Lee striker slipped it by him at the near post.  It was the first of four first half goals for the Generals, and before Mount Vernon knew it, the match was well out of reach.

“They play the long ball with such speed and force,” Garza said.  “And defensively, we allowed them to come at us too much rather then pressuring them.”

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The Majors improved slightly in the second half, and almost had a pair of amazing free kick goals, but both attempts from long distance sailed just over the bar.  As the half wore on, however, the players looked clearly demoralized from the news of their teammate and the bad first half.  The Generals added two late goals and the Majors settled for the runner-up plaque.

“We will need to improve on solidifying the middle of the field,” Garza pointed out.  “We lost a lot of possession in there and that’s a gap we need to fill.”

Still, Coach Garza remains upbeat about his team’s chances moving forward in the regional tournament, citing last year’s teams run to the quarterfinals.

“We lost a tough 2-1 game to Stuart in double overtime of district semifinals,” he explained.  “But then we came back and nearly made it to the regional semi’s losing 1-0 to Robinson in overtime.  We just need to go back to the drawing board, refocus and go from there.”

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