Varsity boys soccer team ties North Salinas 2-2

Alec+Zhang+%289%29+dribbles+the+ball+past+a+North+Salinas+defender.+The+varsity+boys+soccer+team+tied+North+Salinas+2-2+on+Friday+in+their+third+game+of+the+season.

Olivia Xu

Alec Zhang (9) dribbles the ball past a North Salinas defender. The varsity boys soccer team tied North Salinas 2-2 on Friday in their third game of the season.

by Olivia Xu, Reporter

The varsity boys soccer team tied North Salinas High School 2-2 on Friday at home.

The game started with numerous passing and interceptions between players. North Salinas scored a goal at the 19-minute mark, quickly following with a second goal at the 23-minute mark and bringing the score to 0-2 by halftime.

“We came into the game having a game plan to sit back, let them have the ball and then take advantage of their mistakes,” team captain Ishaan Mantripragada (12) said.

At halftime, the Harker team noticed that they were falling behind and modified their formation and strategy to press the opposing team’s offense more. As a result, Ishaan scored the Eagles’ first goal seven minutes into the second half, scoring another goal at the 26-minute mark of the second half and finishing the game tied.

“[The game] went [well] in the first half, but it went better in the second half because we changed formation and we pressed higher and forced more of their errors,” team member Jack Yang (10) said.

Assistant athletic trainer Laz Cardenas, who watched the game, believes the team will continue to play well this season.

“[I’m looking forward] to seeing how they progress,” Cardenas said. “They seem like a really good team this year, and a lot of the players were part of the CCS championship team two years ago, so it should be a good season for them.”

Over the course of the season, Ishaan hopes that the team will grow closer together, and in turn, have greater success.

“Especially after COVID last year, the main thing that our team could improve on is getting to know each other much better because some of the seniors still need to get to know some of the freshmen [and] sophomores and build team chemistry,” Ishaan said. “We have to build trust with each other, and that’s how we’ll find our success this season.”