By Greg Hancock
For the first-place Los Altos Eagles soccer team and its 7-1 record, simply showing up and expecting to win won’t always get it done. In Tuesday’s match versus the Saratoga Falcons, the Eagles came out flat in the first half, allowing the Falcons to jump to a 3-0 lead. Despite a furious second half comeback, Los Altos lost its second league game of the year 3-2 to a determined Saratoga squad.
Los Altos’ lethargic start was disappointing to Coach Vava Marques, who had been preaching to his team prior to the match that they needed to take the Falcons seriously.
“They [Saratoga] are going to come hard. We need to be ready.”
In the first half, Los Altos did out-shoot the Falcons 12-7, but few of those shots had a chance to get in the net. The Eagles out-shot the Falcons 20-17 for the match.
Saratoga scored twice in its first four shots on goal to take the early lead. The first goal came on an odd play where a free kick from near midfield went through normally sure-handed goalkeeper Kieran McMeekin’s hands.
Los Altos forward Danny Kohler, who scored his team’s only two goals on the day, spoke about the game.
“They came to beat us and we lost focus for a little while. We started to get it back at the end, but it was too late.”
Only one minute into the second half, Kohler pounded his first goal into the net on a penalty kick following a Saratoga penalty. This gave his team a much-needed psychological boost. Kohler’s second goal was a header in the 26th minute, coming off of another free kick.
Once Los Altos realized that it was in for a dog fight, the Eagles’ level of intensity rose to its normal high state — but it was simply too little, too late.
“Saratoga played really well,” says Kohler. “We just were a bit lackadaisical today, and it took us a whole half to step up. This is a wake up call. This game shows that we still need to keep working hard. We just need to keep it going.”
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