Ripon High’s Varsity Boys Soccer had an unfortunate loss to the Hughson Huskies. On the night of Jan. 23 the boys played at Mavis Stouffer Park and lost 1-0. Ripon didn’t make this an easy game, they fought long and hard.
Our boys believed they had a chance to win or even tie, they already had experience with the Huskies. They had gone against each other in a previous tournament and they were tough. During the week, they had also practiced well and believed they were improving.
Juan Diego Guzman, one of the captains, comments in Spanish, “Teníamos expectativas muy altas, veníamos con la mentalidad de ganar.” He explains how the team had high expectations and came with a winning mentality.
Neither team was making this easy for the other. The boys were playing a 4-3-3 formation, one they always play with. The first half of the game was pretty intense, unluckily Hughson fought and scored a goal. This goal then ended the first half of the match.
Despite the Huskies getting ahead, Ripon did not give up or lose motivation. In fact, it seems as if they fought harder defensively. All the fans on the sidelines were screaming and cheering for both teams. “My family and friends being there and watching me gives me motivation,” stated junior, Johan Padilla. “There’s no reason for them to go to a game, if I’m not playing at my best.”
The Indians started to attack more and there was a couple of indifferences. The game was stopped for a couple minutes as they disputed over an injured player, but then continued to play as they took the player off the field. No one was able to score in the second half as neither team was allowing each other to advance, there were many chances for both teams. The Huskies and Indians played great, they were great defensively and offensively.
“Fue un juego intenso, el equipo se mostró muy bien, complementamos muy bien en ataques pero no se dieron los resultados que esperábamos,” Guzman states in Spanish. He describes how the game was intense and how both teams complimented each other, although the results weren’t what they expected.
Unfortunately, the game did end in a loss for the Indians, but they still have chances to win more matches. Padilla expressed, “ I hope we can win more games.” Stay tuned for more matches the boys have.
