The Spartans grabbed their 5th win of the season as they beat Rock Valley College 3-1 on Saturday at the Spartan Athletic Fields.
The team got off to a good start as they scored two goals in the first half. Midfielder Gabriel Arias scored the first goal of the game in the 12th minute. Forward Adrian Diaz continues the momentum by scoring the team’s second goal of the game which makes it 2-0.
Unfortunately, the team got its first yellow card of the card which was for forward Christian Escobedo in the 16th min. Ths Spartans ended the 1st half on a positive note as they led 2-0.
In the second half, the team tried their best to keep the clean sheet but unfortunately, the clean sheet ended in the 79th minute. Also, The Spartans got two more yellow cards in the second half which were for midfielder Gabriel Arias in the 73rd minute and midfielder Alexander Martinez in the 89th minute. In the 82nd minute, defender Fran Montoya scored the team’s third goal of the game.
After the game, coach Dimitri Tsoukalas gave his thoughts on the game. He gave his insight on how to give advice to a player that is tackled more than once during a game.
“The big thing with me is just keep fighting on and just deal with it,” he said. “Sometimes, we talk about the mental side of the game where you can’t let it affect you and your emotions start to get affected, too.”
Also, he gave his thoughts on how the players are taking advantage of every part of the field which is “Today, we spoke about where the next man up. We were able to get everyone in. They use the entirety of the pitch as they could just to try to open up the game and that is what helped us win.”
Lastly, coach Tsoukalas explained how the players can improve their crossing pass. According to him, he said “It’s the technique that we have to work on. There’s different ways that you hit a ball that can help a teammate be able to track it better.”
Midfielder Luis Rubio gave his thoughts on the game. He explained his way of defending.
According to him, he said “It depends on how the team is looking on the other side. First, you have to see what the situation is. If you could touch away from the opposition into space, you can do that but if you can’t, sometimes you have to take it out and do the tackle.”
Rubio explained his way of scanning the field which is “I think I’ll do alright but it’s a team sport. All your teammates have to do their part and everyone does their part. Everyone does a good job on the field.”
Lastly, he expressed his opinion if he uses hand signals/body language to communicate with teammates which is “Especially, if you’re attacking and they’re trying to make a play and you’re open, you want to call for it and throw your hand out on where you want the ball.”
