Varsity boys soccer defeated Pinewood School 2-1 during their senior night match on Davis field on Wednesday.

Before the game, the team celebrated seniors Daniel Chen, Ian Gerstner, Steven Jiang, Nikhil Pesati, Ruhan Sahasi, Veer Sahasi, Jonathan Wang and Alec Zhang. Varsity boys soccer head coach Seena Sajadieh gave speeches recognizing each senior’s contribution to the program, and teammates presented them with personalized posters and gift baskets. 

Pinewood kicked off, with Harker quickly winning possession of the ball and working it down the field. One minute into the first half, forward Vova Shchegrov (10) broke free of his defender for a shot on goal, but the Panthers goalie saved it. Picking up their offensive pressure, Pinewood began an aggressive attack, lobbing the ball over goalkeeper Cameron Jones (10) to score the first goal of the match five minutes in. 

Responding aggressively, the Eagles pushed farther up the field, passing the ball around the Panthers’ 18-yard box. In the ninth minute, Vova won the ball, driving down the sideline and sending a cross into the box, which midfielder Nathan Mao (9) finished to bring the score to 1-1. 

“Going down 1-0, we fought to get the goal back immediately, and then we continued to push harder and harder,” defender Veer said. “Resilience and perseverance and keeping with it allowed everything to work out.”

Harker continued launching attacks and maintained possession of the ball in Pinewood’s half. Midfielder Cyrus Ghane (11) dominated the midfield, weaving through defenders to connect passes with his teammates. Although the Eagles earned numerous breakaways and goal opportunities, with both Vova and midfielder Alec each attempting shots, the Panthers goalie prevented Harker from gaining a lead.

Winning the ball off a tackle, Veer dribbled the ball to the corner, before cutting it back to Nathan, who earned a shot on goal. In the final play of the first half, Vova outran two defenders in a fast break, but the Pinewood goalie saved his shot to keep the teams deadlocked 1-1.

In the 64th minute, the Eagles broke through Pinewood’s defense, with midfielder Krish Nachnani (11) finding a pass to Vova, who buried his shot in the top corner to pull Harker into the lead 2-1. For the rest of the half, Harker maintained its strong offensive dominance, cracking shot after shot and preventing Pinewood from gaining attacking opportunities.

Clinging to a narrow lead, the Eagles conceded a foul in the final minute of the game. The Panthers attempted to capitalize, sending every player including their goalie into Harker’s 18-yard box. Amidst a scramble in front of the goal, the Eagles successfully cleared the ball out of play, solidifying their 2-1 victory over Pinewood.

Varsity boys soccer assistant coach Jason Lee commended the seniors contributions to the team, reflecting on their development over the season.

“We outplayed them in every way possible,” Lee said. “These seniors grew and molded a lot and are very different players from when they came in. I’m happy for them that they got to go out on a win.”

After playing on the team for the past four years, Alec reminisced on the support and energy he felt as the season comes to a close. 

“It was a good moment to end off my career at Harker,” Alec said. “It was really memorable with everyone coming together—the JV players, the varsity players and our friends. In this game, our celebrations on our goals were planned, and our freshman scored, and that turned out really great. Now, we’re just looking to finish the season strong in our last three games.”