Boys’ Soccer Bounces Back from Sloppy Loss to River Hill

by Ryan Duvall ’21 and Colin Horan ’21

After a hot start to the 2019 season, the boys varsity soccer team played two out-of-conference games, against the River Hill Hawks, and the Falcons of Good Counsel. The Warriors started out well, defeating Magruder 3-1,  and Blake 1-0. They looked to continue their win streak as they headed into the River Hill game on Wednesday September 16th. Unfortunately for the Warriors, they were taken down 2-0 by the Hawks, who are ranked 11th in the state, according to MaxPreps.

Heading into halftime, the Warriors stayed close to the Hawks, only down 1-0. But as they entered the second half, things began to get out of hand. With 25 minutes left in the game senior Carl Cadet drew the first red card for Sherwood, after committing a foul as the last line of defense. The loss of a key defender was a major blow for the Warriors.  About ten minutes later, striker Brian Nolasco picked up his second yellow card of the game, which earned him a red, ejecting him from the game. Down to only nine players, the Warriors had lost all momentum. Sherwood conceded the second goal a few minutes later, and the Warriors weren’t able to bounce back.

Even after the loss, there was still a sense of hope among the team, knowing that they had been right there with a state power like River Hill. “I think the two red cards really set us back as a team. We would’ve played much better, and without them I definitely think that we would’ve come out on top,” said junior midfielder Derick Ventura.

The following weekend, on September 21, Sherwood faced the Good Counsel Falcons on its home turf as they looked to bounce back from their defeat to River Hill. Despite missing a staring attacker due to a red card, and another to injury, the Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute after a goal by Ventura. After 45 minutes of rather sloppy play on both sides Sherwood still held a 1-0 lead. In the second half, the Falcons began to play a bit chippy and after several foul calls, the Warriors got a penalty kick in the 72nd minute.  Senior Diego Ramirez buried the ball into the bottom right corner, giving the Warriors a 2-0 lead that they would hold onto.

 “The win against Good Counsel felt good since we lost in a very unfortunate way against River Hill, but we didn’t let the loss stop us from playing hard and getting a win,” said junior Hunter Bredow.