Story by Uma Chakraborty
Staff Writer

Photo by Lucinda Ernst
Staff Photographer

The girls’ soccer team faced the La Cañada Spartans at a home game on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 5:30 p.m., losing 2–1. The Tigers displayed excellent teamwork and offense, but were unable to match the Spartans’ score before the time ran out.

South Pasadena started with possession of the ball and connected many passes in the middle of the field. The Spartans team then broke away and ran through the Tigers’ defense to score the first goal of the game, four minutes in. The Spartans blocked every offensive attempt from the Tigers for much of the first half’s latter duration. With both teams huddled around the Spartans’ goal, junior Raquel Kelly Gerakos evened the score to 1–1 by finishing a corner kick with around 15 minutes left in the first half. Junior goalie Lilianna Hernandez stopped the Spartans from scoring and allowed the Tigers to run the ball back towards the opposite side. The first half of the game ended in a tie of 1–1.

The Tigers returned to the game excited and ready to play. The Tigers flew past the Spartans’ defense, managing  to get a shot off, but the Spartans’ goalie was too quick and caught it before it went in. Similarly, the Tigers protected their goal during a close throw-in by the Spartans, which won them applauds and cheers from the crowd. 

While the Tigers dominated and connected well, neither team could finish the play, leading to an uneventful middle portion of the match. The Spartans finally broke through and brought the score to 2–1, leaving the Tigers’ morale low. With 10 minutes left in the game, the pressure was high for the Tigers to score. Coach Jeremy Gonzalez moved some players from defense towards offense in a last attempt to score, but the Tigers were not able to do so within the last few minutes of the game. Even with amazing offense and determination, the Tigers fell short one point at the end of the game, losing 2-1.

Girls’ soccer faced the Temple City Rams at a home game on Friday, Jan. 30 at 5:30 p.m, celebrating senior night.