BY OLIVIA LEWIS
The Cooper City Cowboys had their second home soccer game of the week on Friday, December 1. They were determined to win their sixth game of the season, especially after winning their last game with a score of 8-0. The boys varsity soccer team fought it out until the last ten minutes of the game when Douglas was able to score two goals within three minutes of each other.
Starting off with the ball, the Cowboys passed the ball around trying to find momentum for the game. Brandon Bermudez battled an opposing player for the ball, but was called for a foul, resulting in a free kick that was kicked out of bounds by Chris Will. A Douglas player received the ball from the throw-in and crossed it, but Ethan Muncan stopped the play and passed the ball to Mateo Upegui. Upegui dribbled the ball up the field and attempted to pass it to one of his teammates, but it went out, leading to a goal kick which Bermudez headed out of bounds. Douglas regained possession of the ball and took it towards the goal. However, Muncan bodied the forward and gained possession of the ball and took it up the field. Douglas stripped the ball away from the Cowboy’s midfield and tried to make a goal but was stopped by goalie Brandon Williams. Andrew Hausdorff received the ball and had a passing combination with Upegui, resulting in a pass to Will which almost lead to a goal.
Shortly after, Greg Satinover took a shot but it went wide. Douglas took a goal kick, but Noah Gannon headed it away, giving Cooper City possession of the ball. Upegui was fouled and the Cowboys were given a free kick. Hausdorff hit the ball in but it was kicked out by a defender. With 2 minutes left in the half, Satinover jumped up to head the ball but was hit in the back of the head by a Douglas defender, resulting in a yellow card to the opposing player. The half ended with a tie score of 0-0.
Both teams came back out onto the field with a drive to win the game. Douglas tried to play a ball over the defense, but Muncan headed the ball away. Taskin received the ball and had a give-and-go with Gannon, who was then blocked. Upegui then received possession of the ball but was quickly fouled, giving the Cowboys a free kick. They went for a shot, but the Douglas goalie was able to save the ball from entering the net. The Eagles were then able to move the ball up the field to the final third, where Muncan fouled a player right outside the 18-yard box. A free kick was awarded and the Douglas player took a shot, but it went wide. Gannon gained possession and passed a through ball to Satinover, which resulted in a corner kick. Hausdorff took the corner kick, but Upegui missed the ball. Douglas capitalized off the counter-attack but was stopped by Jacob Martin who passed it to the midfield. A Douglas midfield got the ball and took a shot, but Williams snatched the ball out of the air and punted it up the field.
Douglas gained possession again and took another shot, but the ball went soaring over the goal. This back-and-forth between the players continued until the Eagles began to solidify their hold of the ball. A Douglas midfielder gained possession and took a shot from outside the 18-yard box, scoring in the corner of the net. Two minutes later, a Douglas forward hit the ball right over William’s head, making the score 0-2. The Cowboys gave it their all in the last two minutes to at least get one goal but were unable to.
The game ended with a score of 0-2, with the Cowboy’s walking off the field disappointed. They walked over to the huddle with their coaches and began to talk about the game. They gave it their all and hope to do better in their future games. Their next game takes place at McArthur High School on Monday, December 4 at 4:00.
“I think the team is going to do very well this year,” Gio Abril said. “We have a great bond and we have fun. We have had our ups and down in games, but if we continue putting in 100% of effort we will do very good.”
Final score: Cooper City 0, Douglas 2
Photo by Benjamin Milgram
