Luck was not on the W.F. West boys soccer team’s side against Mountain View on St. Patrick’s Day.
After a scoreless first 38 minutes of the Bearcats’ home opener Monday night, W.F. West defender Colin Bradley got hit with a penalty to give Mountain View’s Daniel Reyes a penalty kick.
Reyes’ first attempt was denied on a brilliant diving effort by keeper Noel Montenegro on the left side of the net, but the ball rolled right back to the foot of Reyes, who kicked it into the opposite end of the net. The penalty kick just before halftime was the only score of the night in a 1-0 Mountain View victory, marking the second straight year the Thunder shut out the Bearcats in March.
“It was unfortunate on the call for the penalty kick, and Noel made an awesome save on the first attempt. Unfortunately, it went right back to the kicker, so not much we could do there,” W.F. West head coach Allen Anderson said.
The Bearcats dominated possession in the first 10 minutes of the match and played with a strong energy, but the momentum was not maintained throughout the first half. Passes became much more difficult, and trips to the attack zone were rare. When W.F. West did advance the ball into striking distance, shots were high or wide.
“We started really strong because these guys wanted to prove that they were a different team and a better team than last year, and we knew the competition we were up against,” Anderson said, referencing a 4-0 loss to the Thunder on March 9, 2024. “Based off of what we saw last year, we knew we were going to have to bring it.”
Bradley’s penalty came at a time when the Bearcats were struggling with their communication and ball movement. While in transition, the senior appeared to make contact with Reyes from behind, causing Reyes to fall. But Bradley told his coaches that he only made contact with the ball.
Reyes’ successful second penalty kick try sent the Bearcats into halftime trailing 1-0 and searching for answers, but their small mistakes from the first half continued to linger into the second half. As the clock bled down, W.F. West’s strong start in the opening 10 minutes seemed far in the distant past.
Following the 1-0 loss, Anderson told his team that they were a much different squad in the first half than in the second half, and not for good reason.
“I didn’t think we brought quite the same energy and chemistry that we had in that first half with our ball movement. You could tell that we had frustrated our opponents and they were starting to get a little chippy,” Anderson said. “They were starting to hit us in the back, and I felt like it really took us out of our rhythm when they started becoming extremely physical in that second half.”
W.F. West (1-1) finished with 11 shots (nine on goal) in its first loss of the season. Monday’s contest marks the Bearcats’ only home match in the month of March as six of their seven matches this month are on the road, including a test at Battle Ground Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“I hope that we use the experience from these long trips to really bond and talk about the game and learn and help make each other better and build that chemistry so that we can go forward,” Anderson said. "Overall, I am proud of the boys for their performance tonight. It was a good test for us."
