Any glimmer of hopes for a late run towards the post-season were dashed Saturday afternoon at West Sunset, as the 7th/8th grade soccer team was shutout 3-0. It's the third time this season they were held goalless.
Up against another top team in their division for the second straight week, the boys were unable to duplicate the results from a week ago. They just weren't in sync with each other and some players even looked like they didn't want to play.
Some of the most athletic players on the team for whatever reason don't have the jump needed in their step to compete at a high level and it's really hurting the team.
Inconsistency in showing up to practice is also starting to show. With a squad of 14 players, every person is an intricate component of the team. But rarely does the entire team attend practice at the same time, so team chemistry is not where it should be.
It's quite evident in the forwards as there is just no chemistry among the attackers. While the other teams control the ball and score because of passing to each other, the 7th/8th grade (1-5) rely on booting the ball forward and having someone chase the ball down.
Aside from Jackie and Garrick hooking up last week, there haven't been any goals off of nice passes.
They had some opportunities in the second half to break through, but balls were too far ahead, or not controlled by the forwards.
On the bright side, all the goals scored by the other team were byproducts of just solid plays, especially the first goal which was a beautiful free kick over a wall from a good 20 yards away.
Thomas started in goal for the second straight week and played a solid 48 minutes.
With only two games left, the 7th/8th grade is left playing for pride. They play a team they lost to 3-1 to start the season, another game they could've won, and then a championship rematch against the team they lost to last year in the title game.
Even with the post-season out of reach, there's still a lot on the line in the final two games.
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