On Tuesday night, Manual’s boys varsity soccer team fell to the Collegiate Titans, 2-1, during regional semi-finals. This loss marks the conclusion of their season.
First Half:
The game started off with Manual’s Taysir “Tito” Khatib (#3,12) taking possession of the ball. He then passed it to Yassin Mohamed-Hassan (#19,12), who launched the ball towards Collegiates goal. The ball was constantly passed back and forth from one side of the field to the other, with both teams fighting for possession.
Collegiate dominated possession of the ball early in the game, but Manual’s defense didn’t let up. Benson Green (#4,11) and Mohamed-Hassan actively prevented Collegiate’s strikers from moving towards the goal.
A few fouls followed. During one instance, Collegiate committed a foul, giving Mohamed-Hassan a chance at a free kick for Manual. During another play,a Collegiate player pushed Ibrahim Piracha (#10,12). A free kick for Manual followed, but Collegiate’s defense prevented any Manual goals.
Shortly after, Piracha took a shot on goal, but it was saved by the Collegiate goalie. Although the ball shifted towards Manual’s goal, the Crimsons’ defense remained strong with Braxton Cox (#25,11) preventing the ball moving up towards the goal with a header.
A foul was called ontheCrimsons a few minutes later, giving a Collegiate free kick which was successful. They received another one shortly after with less than 3 minutes in the first half.
The first half ended with a score of 2-0, with Collegiate in the lead.
Second Half:
Collegiate started off the second half with possession Despite not scoring in the first half, Manual came out more focused, mostly staying on the offensive side of the ball. Collegiate’s defense stayed strong, though
Fouls continued throughout the game giving Manual an opportunity to score. Manual earned a free kick after Hamza Barbour (#26,10) was pushed down by a Collegiate player, but the Crimsons’ offense was unable to use the penalty to their advantage. The ball continued moving back and forth across the field. Manual finally broke through the Collegiate’s defense during one of their possessions, and Piracha was able to score a goal. The Crimsons now only trailed 2-1.
Throughout the second half, both teams exchanged fouls, allowing for opportunities to score. Collegiate’s aggressive defense forced Manual to step up and work hard on every play, but Manual’s defense also stayed on point and blocked a lot of Collegiate’s attempts on goal.
The match continued with Collegiate fouling repeatedly, giving Manual several free kicks. All were unsuccessful, however.
In the last moments of the game, Collegiate attempted another goal, but it was saved by Manuals’ defense. Manual made their way back to Collegiate’s goal, trying to score another goal to tie the game, but the clock ran out, ending the game.
“We played as hard as we [could] play. We made a couple of silly goofy defensive mistakes in the first half, [but] otherwise I thought we outplayed Collegiate and played better in the second half,” said head coach Michael Hayes.
The final score of the game was 2-1, with Collegiate advancing to the regional finals and marking the end of the Crimsons’ season.
