As the homecoming football game was on the mind for many students, boys varsity soccer played in the Rock Bridge Shoot Out against Francis Howell Central High School, held tonight at Battle High School.
Within the first 10 minutes, senior Cooper Smith passed the ball across the goal line and senior Salim Gumati  kicked it in, resulting in the first goal of the match. No other shots resulted in goals during the first half. Then after the 10-minute interlude between the halves, RBHS took the field once again. Not long after, Smith scored a goal for himself making the score now 2-0.
Then after a lobbed pass, sophomore Tarnue Tyler went head to head with the Francis Howell goalie, scoring to extend the lead 3-0. The last nail in the coffin for the game was the fourth goal scored for RBHS by junior Connor Blitz. However, Francis Howell picked up some momentum on fast-paced plays and a well-placed through ball, and, despite senior Goal Keeper Greg Kelly’s best effort to block the first shot attempt of the one-on-one encounter, the ball rebounded into the feet of the Francis Howell player, resulting in the ending score of a 4-1 game and Rock Bridge still victorious last night, Oct. 25, with only two yellow cards, one for Smith and one for Head Coach Alex Nichols.
Forward and Center Mid Salim Gumati said he thought the game went overall well and they had a lot of strengths they showed in this game.
“We were possessing the ball really well tonight, and we were playing the game really fast,” Gumati said, “almost fast to a fault. They played quick back and defensive lapses that caused them to get a goal. But overall, we took control of the game.”
Although the team won by three points, Salim Gumati said he wanted the game to be a shutout where the opponents scored no goals and not getting it was more of a hurt pride.
“It’s annoying [not to have a shut out game]. I mean it’s not a bad thing to win by three goals, but it’s just a pride thing,” Gumati said. “We want to keep the goals scored on us real low so it was just frustrating.”
Similarly, Forward Tarnue Tyler said the defensive mental lapses of the team are something that still need work, along with the ever-important team’s overall communication.
“Talking and communication still need work,” Tyler said. “It’ll definitely help us more when we are in post-season.”
As the game was on homecoming night, the team was still able to go to the dance, but Gumati doesn’t think this will affect their game today at 10 a.m. on the RBHS field.
“Everybody is serious about this, they all want a win,” Gumati said, “so they aren’t going to take this lightly. We’re going to get enough sleep, and we’re going to be ready to play in the morning.”
By Justin Sutherland