Headed back for their final friendly before an upcoming tournament run, the high school girls’ soccer team set course to Camp Walker for a matchup against Daegu Middle High School (DMHS) on April 14. The girls traded the soccer pitch for a full-sized field rather than settling on the smaller one.
Unfortunately due to miscommunication and scheduling conflicts, the team rushed to prepare in the few minutes kickoff. The coaches hurriedly walked the team through their regular 3-1-2 formation and introduced the starting lineup: Minori Kojima (9) at center back, Kaylie Jeong (28) at right back, Ellen Cho (0) at left back, Leewen Wang (1) in midfield, Mika Lee (77) and Mary Cho (20) at forward and Victoria Kang (10) as goalkeeper.
In response to Jun (7)’s ankle injury earlier in the week, the coaches made last-minute changes in the starting roster, switching in Jeong (28) to fill Jun (7)’s absence.“[Apple] had started the previous games and she was very strong defensively. Her absence did affect the team a little bit. But then again, that’s an opportunity for people to step up as well,” Coach Gall said.
While the transition initially posed challenges, Jeong (28) quickly settled into her new role. “My usual position was midfielder, so I had to do more running and more of an attacking position. But as a left back, I had to help the goalie defend the ball from the opposition team,” Jeong (28) said.
As the whistle blew, the team pushed forward with a set play built on sharp, quick passes. While the larger field initially worked in the Jets’ favor, the added ground soon took its toll as fatigue disrupted the girls’ energy levels. Struggling to sustain momentum, the girls failed to build up an attack and lost their lead early on.
Soon, the turnover led to a breakthrough down the sideline. The warriors drove through the defense for a pass and directed the ball to the right. A few more passes around the box left a pocket of space near the goal, allowing a clean shot to hit the net (1:0).
Riding the high, DMHS attacked relentlessly and committed up to four players along the defensive third. Although the Jets managed to fend off the attacks, the absence of key backline player Jun (7) took the difficulty up a notch.
With the backline in a frenzy, the formation fell apart by the seams. Goalkeeper Victoria Kang made a risky save at the goal and played the ball to the defender nearby, but DMHS stalled the midfielders mid-way. By the end of the thirty-minute half, the warriors scored two more goals and extended their lead to 3-0.
During halftime, the team regrouped for tactical adjustments and mental composure. “If you concede a few goals, yeah, that naturally deflates you. You’ve got to be a lot stronger mentally. And it’s the whole team together as one. It might happen again in some shape or form,” Coach Gall said.
After the ten-minute recovery time, the formation compacted to prepare for a strong defense against the warriors’ attacking sequence. Although the Jets took several shots and stepped up the tempo, the girls failed to recover the point differential (9-0).
“Honestly, our defense was pretty weak. I think the major point was when defending, instead of chasing after the person and the ball, we should have backed up a bit more so that we would put pressure on them. But instead of putting pressure, I think we were more pressured. And that’s why our defense slipped,” Cho (0) said.
Still, the match strengthened communication and prepared athletes for upcoming tournaments. “We did get better at things although we probably didn’t see it as much as we hoped. We want to see us moving up the field fast, not just retaining the ball and keeping it and not progressing. But we put together four or five passes and we were more decisive. That was the positive thing and we’re happy we saw that,” Coach Gall said.
Despite the tough loss, the match served as a valuable opportunity for the team to reflect on defensive organization and communication. With renewed focus, the girls now shift their focus to prepare for their first official tournament in the upcoming Korean International Schools Activities Conference (KISAC) from April 23 to 25.
