As the spring sports season continues, the Atoms look to improve and stay prepared as the team heads into their final stretch of regular season games before the season ends.
The teams next game is on April 26 at Falls Church. The game will be a tough challenge for the Atoms, as Falls Church is performing well on the season.
Falls Church is 6-3 on the season, so they should be a challenging matchup for the Atoms.
Despite the challenge that faces the Atoms, they are ready to compete at a high level.
The Atoms are 3-3-1 on the season. They got off to a slow start to the season, but they have been playing at a high level recently.
The team has won four of their last six games played.
“I would say that the team’s season has gone as expected. We have faced some difficult teams, but we still have another half of the season to play so we just have to step up before the district playoffs starts,” junior forward Muhajir Adem said.
The Atoms have faced many challenges throughout the season, and the challenges the team has faced has helped them be prepared for the challenging stretch of upcoming games.
The team closes out the regular season playing Falls Church on April 26, Justice on April 29, Thomas Jefferson on May 5, Mt. Vernon on May 9, and Edison on May 11.
As the Atoms head into this stretch of games, it is important that the team stays prepared and works hard.
“I think the team is playing at an okay level. We just need to improve as a team on coming to practice so we can be better,” junior mid fielder Robel Ghirmay said.
Coming to practice and working hard will really help the Atoms make a run at the district title.
The Atoms are coming off of a 2-2 tie against Meridian in their most recent game.
In this game, the weather was not in the Atoms favor. The game was super rainy and cold, causing the playing field to become slippery.
On top of that, Meridian is coming off of a state championship last year, and they were undefeated heading into the game.
The Atoms got up 1-0 early, but Meridian then scored two goals in a row, making the score 2-1. With a couple minutes in the second half, senior mid fielder Mauricio Toledo Hidalgo scored a goal to even the game at 2-2.
“I think the team played well against Meridian. I think there would have been a different outcome with different weather conditions,” Adem said.
The weather conditions played a huge part in the outcome of the game.
In the game before the Atoms battle with Meridian, they faced off against Hayfield. The game started off slow.
The team was missing many players due to injury and the game was tied 0-0 at halftime.
In the second half, the Atoms took over. They dominated in possession and scored two goals in the second half, winning the game 2-1.
If the team wants to replicate the success they had against Hayfield, they have to continue to do what they are good at.
“We just need to continue pushing the ball forward and testing the goalie by having shots on the goal,” Adem said.
The more shots the team has on goal, the more opportunities the Atoms have at scoring goals and winning games.
The Atoms are ready to close out regular season district play and make a run in the district tournament.
The team is excited and they should be a fun team to watch as they head into the playoffs.
“We have a wonderful team with amazing talent. We need to work on coming to practice and putting in 100 percent effort,” Ghirmay said.