But the Titans made a comeback and scored with 14.8 seconds left on the clock, putting them up 3-2 and ending the game with a devastating loss for the Bruins tonight, Sept. 14.
“During the last minute, I was just thinking, ‘Not overtime again,'” junior center Salim Gumati said. “We had those last two corners that we just couldn’t finish on, and they countered on one and scored. It was just a terrible way to lose and we had worked so hard and I just thought we showed all we could and things didn’t go our way.”
Throughout the game, the Titans “were a fairly good team,” but they were not able to possess the ball well and their defense was lacking. However, Lee’s Summit’s adequate and quick offensive players had the ability to turn a counter on the Bruins, Gumati said, and make the chances they got count, which resulted in their second and third goal. Although the Bruins had plenty of possession and goal scoring opportunities in addition to a strong defense, the “mind lapse” the team slid into cost the RBHS boys their first two goals.
The disappointing loss for the Bruins comes right before the CYC tournament in St. Louis, which begins on Monday, Sept. 17. The boys plan to take the weekend off, Gumati said, forget about the loss and regroup back to Rock Bridge soccer.
“Of course our morale goes down [from the loss], but we will bounce back with time over the weekend,” Gumati said. “And I hope that we can pull it together and come up with some big wins [at the CYC tournament.]”
The tournament will feature 16 different teams, including the Oakville Tigers, who defeated the Bruins in a brutal game at last year’s state semi-finals. With last year’s loss, the Bruins this year have more to prove.
“It’d be great to beat [Oakville],” Gumati said, “but honestly, we just have to put that behind us and play our game. But of course [Oakville] beat us last year in state, and we have to repay them if we do get the chance.”
By Daphne Yu
