Boys soccer scores 10 goals in tournament play; fails to advance

Despite scoring 10 goals in two games, the MacArthur Tigers could not advance past the group rounds in the intermediate school tournament.

On November 13, the MacArthur boy’s soccer team won fifth place, overall scoring 10 goals the whole tournament. The tournament was held at Valley High school and the team was coached by P.E. Teacher Mr. Tim Frederickson. They won against Santiago K-8 School in the first match, then lost to Carr Intermediate School in the second match.

“This year I coached because there was no one to do it, and I wanted the boys to have an opportunity to play and represent MacArthur in the tournament,” said Fredericksen. “We are a very offensive heavy team, we did not have a lot of defensive specialists, having the extra defender helped us control the ball better.¨

Prior to the tournament, practices were Monday through Friday, they started at 6:30 AM and finished at 7:40 AM, five minutes before the first bell rings at MacArthur. An average practice day for soccer is getting dressed, taking four laps around the grass, and practicing passing and throwing in the ball. They also learned how to do headers, crossing, shooting, freekicks, and playing scrimmages against each other. Then they changed back into their school clothes and got ready for a school day.

Unlike some of the other sports, MacArthur has not excelled in soccer.  In 2016, MacArthur’s boy’s soccer placed in sixth place, losing to Villa in their last match of the tournament. The boy’s team has not won the tournament in the past decade.

There were two missed open goals during the Carr match, which if made could have caused the two teams to tie, giving the team an opportunity to win the match and advance.  Unfortunately, it was not to be for the MacArthur tigers.

“I joined soccer because it’s my favorite sport to play,” said seventh-grader Kristopher R., a player on the boy’s soccer team.  “It was fun since I got to play with friends and improve on my skills.  I was nervous in the beginning, but when we started playing I stopped getting nervous and focused more on the game.”