Hough vs. Mallard Creek: Monday Match Spotlight
October 3rd, 2024- Eli Barsoum (10)
Kakitsis (12) watches intently.
Photographed by student Bennet Hayes (12)
This week in sports, the Hough High Varsity soccer team faced off against Mallard Creek High in a thrilling display of dominance on our home turf on Monday at 7 PM. After the national anthem and the announcement of Hough’s starters, the Husky masterclass began. Starting out strong, senior Landon Waldron put Hough on the scoreboard. Dylan Cox showed great physical resilience to assist Waldron while he was pushed around in the box by the Mallard Creek defense. Minutes later, the Huskies capitalized for the second time. Capy Suarez played a gorgeous through ball to Jonah Kakitsis who finished off the play. The 24-25 season is Kakitsis’s third year on the varsity squad, and he has developed into a player that Coach Mike Kutcher can always count on to put up numbers on the field.
Shortly after Kakitsis’s finish, Mallard Creek nearly capitalized on their only threatening chance in the first half of the match. Not to fear, Noah Parker did well to keep them off of the scoreboard. Seconds later, Capy Suarez was set up by Dylan Houle for a screamer on the other side of the field, extending the Husky lead to three goals. The disaster continued for Mallard Creek when a Maverick defender deflected the ball into his own net after a great sequence of passes from Aayush Patel and Capy Suarez.
After a brief goal drought, Iggy Guzman whipped in a powerful cross in the 36th. It found the goalie’s hands, who, to the dismay of Mallard Creek’s entire squad, dropped the ball right to the feet of attacker Dylan Cox. Cox tapped it in for an easy finish. In rapid progression, seconds after the kickoff, Zander Poulous made an incredible run up the sideline and whipped a beautiful cross into the box. Continuing his dominant showcase, Dylan Cox leaped for the ball, heading it into the far post and making for an incredible team goal. Just a minute and a half later, Iggy Guzman smashed the ball into the upper right corner from outside the box. He celebrated on the sidelines with his team. The first half concluded after 40 minutes, with the Husky squad leading 7-0.
Aayush Patel (10) strikes a ball.
After the break, and once fans had grabbed a snack from the concession stand, the slaughter resumed. Hough continued their dominant showing only three minutes into the second half when Dylan Cox received a cross from Jacob Dillon and knocked it past the Mavericks’ keeper into the back of the net, securing his hat trick and making the score 8-0 Huskies. Just one goal away from a mercy rule end to the game, Hough pushed hard for another. Throughout the game, Coach Kutcher made continuous substitutions to keep fresh legs in the game. In the 53rd minute, Hough had their only scare of the second half. Mallard Creek nearly capitalized on a counterattack, but a strong play from keeper Nolan Bosche and a goal-line clearance from defender Whittier Henry kept the Mavericks scoreless. Mallard Creek’s frustration with the Husky dominance came out a few minutes later when a Maverick player was given a yellow card for a rough tackle. After minutes of struggle to finish the game, Piercon Selland assisted Ben Klebba for the game-winning goal. The Husky bench roared for their beloved scorer, followed by a round of applause from the crowd. As a result of their incredible performance (led by Dylan Cox with 3 goals and an assist), the team walked away from the game with a 60-minute victory and a 6-6-3 record for the season.
This showcase of talent and team chemistry gives the Husky Nation hope for our soccer team to make a run to States. Come support the Hough team in their home game against the Julius Chambers Cougars on October 14 at 7 pm.