A light rain showered down as EABH started their first soccer game of the ISSL season. Unfortunately, the Hawks were not able to defend the ball well within the first half -- but that does not mean they did not fiercely try. Nations’ Cougars scored a goal that Eduardo Bonato (21) was not able to protect (0x1). But after this goal, defense increased greatly: Bernardo Temporão (6) protected the area when the ball was dangerously close to the goal, Edward Mason (8) performed a vigorous high kick, and Eduardo Calixto (7) persisted when three Nations players surrounded him. Despite these attempts, the Cougars had more control over the ball overall and therefore controlled about 3/4 of the game. The Hawks kept trying to pierce the opponent team’s defense -- such as those from Cauã Magalhaes and Edward Mason -- but they were futile against the Cougar's goalkeeper. Overall, while the first half was not ideal, EABH seemed to take it as a lesson rather than a defeat.
While the first half of the game took place, there was a war within the audience: a cheer war. Nations’ two previous games against EABH resulted in defeat, which only amped up the audience of this game. Nations students sang song after song while EABH students remained somewhat quiet, the deafening chants hurting their ears.
The second half started with two obvious changes: stronger defense and offense, likely due to a greatly motivating talk given by the coaches to the players in the interval. Eduardo Bonato continued to defend each attempted goal from the Cougars and emerged victorious almost every time. At one point he intensely kicked the ball long, promptly caught by Coach Daniel over 40 meters away! Rafael Tinti (17) and Mathieu Lesage (14) attempted a goal that was almost successful -- but the Nations’ goalkeeper was able to defend it. EABH’s defense was undoubtedly good, but the Cougars still possessed the ball for the majority of this half, leading to them scoring another goal (0x2) before game time elapsed. EABH may have lost this match but the athletes have not let it affect their spirits, instead deciding to learn from their mistakes and improve their offense in later games.
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