The boys soccer team traveled a mile northwest on Dec. 7 to matchup against cross-town rivals St. Francis, bringing back a 3-0 victory to Truman Avenue.
“Games against St. Francis always have a little extra meaning,” head coach Jim McGuirk said. “They all know each other, so there’s a little bit of talk before the game and all that.”
The Spartans got off to a hot start immediately. In the 8th minute, senior midfielder Aidan Wong spun around his defender and squared the ball to senior striker Akshay Chugh, who finished the chance, giving MVHS an early 1-0 lead.
Three minutes later, Wong played a diagonal pass to senior forward Caddell Heatley, who beat his man and slotted his shot past the Lancer goalkeeper.
In the 33rd minute, senior midfielder Niko Dekovic crossed the ball into the box off a freekick, connecting with Wong at the back post to make the score 3-0 coming into halftime.
“We brought desire in the first half, scored two quickly, made it a third,” Wong said. “And then, we kept the aggression [and] the passion up.”
In the second half, neither team had any clear scoring opportunities. Wong said that the defense played especially well, highlighting the performance of senior defender Cash Tugendreich who stepped up when other defenders were absent taking their SATs. The game ended with the same 3-0 scoreline.
The Spartans exit this match with a record of 3-0, with eight goals scored and zero conceded. Both McGuirk and Wong said that the speed of play and maintaining possession were key to their start to the season.
“The better team isn’t always going to win, but the team that works harder,” Wong said.
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