It was an upsetting evening on Jan. 18 as the boys varsity soccer team lost against Dominguez High at the Allen Layne Stadium with a total score of 3-1.

The amount of tension present at the stadium was high when it came to the first quarter. The two teams enacted a good amount of defensive and offensive plays, which kept a strict neutrality during the first part of the game. Although neither team secured any points, they were both ready to go into the second quarter with high hopes provided by the cheers of their supporters.

“The game was pretty intense during the first half,” junior Stephanie Montes said. “ Both teams kept trying to make in goals but they kept blocking each other.”

Once the second quarter came around, it was Dominguez that seemed to have the upper hand in offensive plays. Left and right, the opposing soccer team would try to make the ball in, yet it was Downey’s seemingly indestructible defense that withheld them from making any points during the first half of the game. Having been given a yellow card for tripping a player, the Vikings still retained a positive outlook; keeping in mind that they still had a chance to obtain the gold.

After the refreshing break at half time, the boys were ready to give their all. At first, their energy was sufficient when it came to attempting shots and defending. After a while, the Vikings empowerment seemed to fade off as the rising Dominguez team scored the first goal in the game, leaving the score at 1-0.

It was neck and neck from then on. The persistent Vikes did all they could to achieve moving forward, which was the reason for its proceeding failure: not being able to keep that strong defense which had been provided earlier. Shortly into the fourth quarter, yet another goal was made by the prideful opponents. Even though, the struggling team kept trying its best to catch up to their rival’s score of 2-0.

“I felt like during the second half of the game our team started to loose the organization it had at first,” goalie Eddie Moreno said. “We didn’t really play to our full potential.”

Once stepping it up a notch, the boys’ collaboration gave Downey the chance to redeem itself by scoring a their first goal, leaving the score at 2-1. To Downey’s dismay, Dominguez was readily prepared to overcome the Viking’s goal and score yet again, leaving the depressing score of 3-1.

“The beginning of our season wasn’t as great as I thought it would be,” Moreno said. “Hopefully we can bring in better results later on in the season.”

Leaving the field without a satisfying outcome, the guys have future games to look forward to in hopes of eventually making the playoffs. The team went on to defeat Lynwood with a score of 3-2. Unfortunately, they fell short against Warren, losing 3-2.