Manitou varsity soccer faced off its rival, St. Mary’s, this Tuesday, and although it seemed as though the Mustangs were losing or caught in a draw at times, Manitou pulled through. It ended with a close score of 3-2.

Varsity achieved this with solid touches, passes, and overall teamwork, making it clear that they’ve come together as a team already, with this game being their third one of the season. Everyone seemed to shine with their individual talents, not interfering with the flow of teamwork, adding fuel to the fire that is varsity soccer.

The first half of the game was a difficult one for both teams. For the first 10 minutes, Manitou held the ball on St. Mary’s side for the majority of the time, and was able to crack one good shot at the goal, although it was unfortunately blocked.

Varsity kept this pace with another excellent kick towards the left side of the goal, and a great corner that had the team extremely close to scoring. This pattern was broken by a score against us, leaving a lasting score of 0-1 for the rest of the first half. This didn’t stop Manitou from trying their hardest though, because with 20 minutes left in the half, there wasn’t any room for disappointment. St. Mary’s held the ball on Manitou’s half of the field since their goal, but our mustangs persevered and didn’t let any balls slip by. Even with three minutes left in the half, we were pushing forward with zig zags and passes. Then the first half was finished, and both teams regrouped with their coaches for support and constructive criticism.

Coming back from halftime with a score of 0-1, there was tension in the air. The second half of the match opened with St. Mary’s keeping the ball on Manitou’s side for five minutes. Gradually, however, the Mustangs were able to shift the game back towards the other side, with all components of the team working together to maintain mastery of the ball.

This payed off with us scoring a goal 20 minutes in, causing a great uproar from the stands. This would happen again when we scored another goal five minutes later. The Mustangs had the advantage now, but it was swiftly taken back when St. Mary’s scored right after. The rest of the game comprised of Manitou working hard to distribute the ball to teammates and taking shots at the goal.

The second half ended with both teams putting in great effort to win control of the ball, with hopes of a last-second goal. The rivalry match was then extended into a ten minute overtime, where Manitou blocked two crosses in the last minute of the game. The match was then extended further into double overtime. The mustangs scored a game-winning shot with the help of Jezreal Sommers (9), who was center-forward in a formation of 4-3-3. Manitou soccer not only came out victorious with its varsity match against St. Mary’s with a score of 3-2.