Tuesday, Jan. 14, girls varsity soccer faced off against the Burlingame Panthers, kicking off their first league game of the season with an exciting 2-2 draw on Bradley Field.
Last year, Woodside lost to Burlingame twice in the regular season and Burlingame ended up winning first in the league.
“We’re definitely mindful of that,” said senior captain Mariam Yusuf. “We knew we were going to have to adjust to their playing style going into it.”
According to Yusuf, the coaches had heard from other coaches about Burlingame’s formations.
“Our coach heard from other coaches that they were either going to play in one of two formations, and depending on what they played that day, we had to adjust,” said Yusuf. “They switched their formation halfway, so we had to adjust and adapt to that as well.”
Despite the past challenges, Woodside entered the game feeling optimistic.
“We felt really strong,” said junior defender Kaylee McKee. “We’re missing a couple players, but we fought through and we played a good game.”
Woodside certainly came out strong in the first half, with Yusuf scoring both goals in the first 10 minutes, giving her team a 2-0 lead.
“Everyone loves it when one person scores, everyone gets excited and cheers,” said Yusuf. “It really fuels the team.”
However, as the second half progressed, Burlingame began to find their rhythm. They capitalized on two opportunities, scoring two goals in the second half, ultimately tying the game 2-2.
“Our goals were scored within the first 10 minutes, and we still had 70 minutes left to play,” said Yusuf. “We didn’t keep that drive and motivation for the rest of the game.”
Senior captain Lilly Lyssand also reflected on the team’s shift in focus during the second half, acknowledging that the early lead led to a sense of complacency.
“I would say the biggest challenge from last game is we started off with an early lead,” Lyssand said. “I feel like we kind of let our guard down.”
The team’s goals remain high, motivating them to work hard as the season progresses.
“We had a team covenant at the beginning of the season, and some of our team goals were to win the league and also go to Central Coast Sectionals (CCS),” Lyssand explained.
CCS is the championship with five different divisions. Last year, the Wildcats were in division II of CCS, losing in the semifinals to Mountain View. Moving forward, the team will try to maintain intensity and focus throughout the entire match.
“It didn’t go exactly as planned, but we’re looking to play with collective intensity, collective focus, making sure we’re communicating throughout,” Yusuf said.
Despite the tie, Lyssand was proud of how her team fought through the intensity of the game, especially in the second half.
“Shout out to our whole team because the second half was super intense. We were fighting really hard, being aggressive, and trying to win all the 50/50s,” Lyssand said. “I’m just proud of us, we stayed in the game until the end.”
