On Thursday, Jan 26th, the girls’ soccer team went up against the Marina Vikings at Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) in one of their home conference games. In a hard-pressed match, the team would eventually fall 0-2 against the Vikings.
The game started quickly, with the Vikings driving the ball toward the side of the Barons. This aggressive play by the Vikings would result in a Baron defender having to clear the ball, but this also gave the Vikings a corner kick five minutes into the match. With some more back and forth, the Vikings would score at the eight-minute mark leading the Barons to swap two players out.
The game continued with mostly some back-and-forth tussles from both sides in the first half until the Barons finally made a breakthrough with only 15 minutes left. Senior Katie West made an impressive shot at the goal, but the Viking goalie blocked it by making a dive just in time to secure the ball.
The Barons would be able to maintain the offensive as they would get another chance at the goal with a corner kick with eight minutes left. However, the kick would fly overhead and out of bounds. However, the team would get another chance when senior Kayla Knoob drove the ball downfield and was tripped, giving the Barons a free kick.
The second game commenced, and the Barons pulled forward early, with most of the ball hovering on the opponent’s side. Senior Sarah Gomez got close to scoring as she drove the ball up to the net, but the Viking goakeeper’s legs blocked the shot. The Barons failed to land a shot again on the net after a corner kick.
After this play, the odds turned against the Barons as they start playing on the defensive. The Vikings managed to bring the ball up the field through a few passes and take a shot at the goal, which senior Nylah Mirshafiei blocked. However, the Vikings would slip past a goal after this, setting the score to 0-2.
With 35 minutes left, the Vikings delivered another clean pass but failed to make a goal as Mirshafiei blocked the shot. Ten minutes later, Mirshafiei would block yet another impressive attempt at a goal by the Vikings.
The Vikings continued to play offensively as one of their attackers drove past two Baorn defenders and attempted another score at the goal, which Mirshafiei blocked.
With 20 minutes left, the Barons would finally be able to take the offense with a free kick; however, it would result in an overhead shot. The Barons, unfaltering, retrieved the ball quickly, attempting another shot that the Vikings’ goalie would block.
The Vikings striked back with an offense of their own after the Barons’ play. However, Mirshafiei continued to block shot after shot by the Vikings, determined not to let another goal slip past. In the last ten minutes, Mirshafiei stopped three shots in the final ten minutes of the match, leading to the end of the game.
