The varsity boys soccer overcame South County with an overtime win on Friday, April 20th. After an intense 70 minutes of game time, the Atoms were trailing the Stallions 3-2. However, junior Cesar Flores was able to knot the game at 3 and send it into overtime.

Two five minute halves ensued in which Labarca was able to score the eventual game winner. The goal came off of a corner where the defender attempted to head the ball out and it came straight to Labarca who chested it and volleyed it into the top corner of the goal.

While this gave them the lead, the team was able to fend off the Stallions and play solid defense for the remainder of the overtime, giving the boys its first victory of the season.

“We played a lot better this time compared to previous games. We started getting our passing game back and kept getting shots on goal,” Labarca said.

The team has played 9 games so far, two of them scrimmages. The team isn’t doing as well as they wanted so far. With all their practice, they hope to improve and win more games.

“I believe in my team,” Junior David Belay said. “Game after game, practice after practice, we are finding ourselves getting better with experience and player chemistry,” Belay added. “Knowing your players can up your game by a lot.”

Head coach, Doug Miller, with the help of assistant coaches Jewad Abdulhadi and Stephen Brooks, look to move forward from the win and to finish their last 7 regular season games strong.

In its first 4 regular season games, they were shutout and outscored by 13 goals total. The team scored its first goal in the fifth game on against TJ High School. The goal was scored by Senior Willie Labarca which resulted in a 1-1 draw. Two days later, they played Jeb Stuart High School. This game also ended in a 1-1 draw with a goal scored by Sophomore Jordan Fox.

“I am disappointed in the team mainly because I know we can do better,” Senior Sergio Pinto said. “We have a good team and I hope for the best in the future.”

The next home game is Thursday, April 26th against Edison.

“The crowd has been great. We [the soccer team] thank all our fans and encourage them to stop by our next games and we promise to put a show on,” Pinto said.

“We should be improving in the near future; we are gaining momentum,” Labarca said.