De Anza men’s soccer battles in scoreless game against Foothill

Struggling to push through solid defense, De Anza’s men’s soccer team tied Foothill’s Owls in a scoreless home game on Oct. 3, the Don’s third draw this season.
When asked if there were and noteworthy moments from the game, Sarh Mattia, a liberal arts major, science major, and team captain, said, “It was just one of those games, you know? It was tough.”
Before the match, kinesiology major and team captain Brian Alvarez seemed optimistic. “We’ve hit a couple bumps, a couple draws, but I feel we’re looking better and better every game.”
After this latest game, the Don’s record this season stands as 6 wins, 1 loss, and 3 draws.
The Dons began with an aggressive push toward the Owl’s goal, but were quickly rebuffed by the defenders. The game soon fell into a cycle, with De Anza pushing forward, only to lose control of the ball and work their way up the field again.
Head coach Rusty Johnson complemented Foothill’s defense and hard work after the game. “I think their plan was to get the ball forward and try and get set pieces, which I think they did a pretty good job of.”
The Don’s lack of coordination made them miss crucial scoring opportunities because of misplaced passes and slow reactions. Johnson later called the midfield “stagnant”.
A few minutes before halftime, during a rapid string of passes near Foothill’s goal, De Anza lost control and the ball sailed out of bounds. A woman yelled from the bleachers, “You have to accurate on your passes! Don’t treat it like a hot potato!”
After halftime, De Anza executed a few minutes of well-timed passes, only to be broken down by Foothill’s defense yet again. After the game, Johnson said that the team didn’t execute what they had talked about during halftime. “We need to get on the same page tactically.”
The last few minutes of the game were frenetic. Constant movement covered the midfield while players passed and stole the ball.
Despite the redoubled effort at the end, the Dons ended the game with no score.
Afterward, Johnson said that the team definitely did not play it’s best. He explained their game as “50 to 70 percent bad decisions and 50 to 30 percent bad execution.”
Sarh Mattia agreed, saying that De Anza’s poor playing caused the tie. “We were not prepared.”
The next game will be Oct.6 against Hartnell college.