The past 20 of Mountain View Boys Soccer have not always been the prettiest thing: from being mercy ruled to barely being able to form a team. However, with the arrival of coaches Ishmael Gallardo and Steve Bolton, the team is taking steps to restore past dominance. On September 16, the Mountain Lions took down Thompson Valley for the first time since 2014.
A dominant all around performance from Mountain View led by scorers Levi Blair and Cooper Haught brought the Lions their third win at home this season. The team owned possession and almost all of the offensive chances in the game, Levi Blair describes the feeling that this win creates for the team, “A respectable team like Thompson is no pushover. It just seems to me that our growth as a team and as a family is evident. We continue to get more and more competitive with the other schools and I believe our team’s best days are still ahead of us.” The team since the new coaching staff has arrived has taken the team from 0 wins to 4 wins in the past three years, in a tough league this is a great achievement and puts the team on path for success. “ I think our team has progressed to be more supportive of each other and I think the comradery we show with one another has improved since last year. It truly is a good direction for the Mountain View soccer team’s future.” said Blair.
The first goal scorer of the night, the sophomore, Levi Blair describes the situation of his goal as, “ The ball was crossed into the penalty box from the left side of the field by Caleb Howard and by fortune I was the player it came to. I took a touch with my left foot to stop the ball, it wasn’t perfect by any means and when I looked up I just took the opportunity presented to me to shoot. Even though I shot with my weaker left foot, it seemed that I caught the keeper off guard and I managed to hit the ball in the back of the net.” said Blair. This goal kick started the Lions offense and began the offensive performance that came soon after.
Cooper Haught finished the game off with the third goal in the last 10 minutes of the game, “I was just running to get the goal when I got sent the through ball, my mind was just set on putting the ball in the net. I was joyful and excited after I scored.” said Haught. Cooper has scored 3 goals so far this season and has helped the Lions win multiple games and as a senior he had this to say about the growth of the team since his freshman year, “ This year is the year that the team has progressed the most and we actually learned how to play as a team. My freshman year and sophomore year we lost a lot and we had no communication or skills to change that. Junior year got better with some seniors being on the team and then this year, we have some really good players and our coaches and teammates have improved.”
