Stanton Rolls Past Harvest
ANASOFIA GIRARDOT | DEC. 10, 2021 | SPORTS
Stanton College Preparatory School’s Boys Varsity soccer team dominated Harvest Community School Thursday night 3-0, adding another win to their 6-2 record.
The game began with a battle between the Blue Devils and the Warriors as both teams fought for control over the ball. But once Stanton advanced with their powerful offense and moved the fight towards Harvest’s side of the field, they gained the upper hand.
Even though various attempts were made by Stanton players sophomore striker Joris Djikounou and senior midfielder Joseph Alberto, the Warrior’s junior goalkeeper Dante Senchuck caught every attempted score and held them back.
By the end of the first half, the Blue Devils were locked in a stalemate with the Warriors after their favorable beginning. Stanton continued their strong lead and dashed past the opposing side, attacking the goal box with another set of soaring kicks.
In an intense buildup as Stanton drew nearer towards Harvest’s goal box and a win, the match’s arduous standstill was finally broken. With 14 seconds remaining in the first half, sophomore midfielder Dhruv Garud scored the first goal for the Blue Devils after an assisted pass from sophomore striker Jeremiah Soto.
Even though both sides faced challenging obstacles that delayed them from scoring, the match was already appearing as a Stanton victory because of their unwavering persistence and offensive attack.
“I thought the game was pretty intense, the other team was good but we did much better,” said Garud after the match ended. “We were able to pull through and score three good goals.”
The Blue Devil’s path to their 3-0 score was ignited the minute they pursued the ball during the start of the second half and relentlessly charged towards the Warriors’ side. This with senior defender Kristian Fischer headbutting the ball into the box and successfully scoring a second goal for Stanton.
“I thought we played a strong game, there was always sideways passing, so we did a really great job at distribution and then in the end we got to knock a few goals and that’s always fun,” said Fischer. “This gives us a good start to work with and we can continue that into the next couple games.”
With this strategy in place, the Blue Devils’ tenacious progress culminated with the third goal from senior midfielder Joseph Alberto and finalizing the score to 3-0.
“I thought [the match] was good and that we started off slow but in the end we started picking up the pace,” said Alberto.
After a comeback victory from their last match’s loss against Gainesville and improving to 7-2, the Blue Devils are competing on their home field Monday, Dec. 13 against the First Coast Buccaneers.
The Harvest Community Warriors will also play on their home field against their next opponents, the Cedar Creek Christian High School Saints, Tuesday, Dec. 14.