On October 22, a larger crowd than normal filed into Roy Lester stadium to watch the varsity soccer teams’ last season games against Paint Branch High School, filling the stands with purple in support for pancreatic cancer. The big turnout can be attributed to senior night, the celebration of both soccer teams’ seniors that was sandwiched between the two games.

Although Paint Branch scored first, the Rockets would emerge victorious later that night ending the game with a score of 2-1.

The girls’ game started at 5:20, with a kickoff from the Paint Branch Panthers. RM was at a distinct disadvantage as they were facing the sun, but the team soon gained control of the ball, easily passing around Paint Branch’s defense. The Rockets dominated the game for a while, until a foul against Paint Branch in the twelfth minute earned them a free kick. The defense quickly stopped the counterattack, getting a pass off wide to the outside midfielder.

The team had a lull in energy for a while, with a lot of balls just getting by them, but the Rockets managed to hold on to the 0-0 scoreline. They soon picked the speed back up again and continued to pass around the opposing team.

RM finally got a well-deserved shot on goal in the nineteenth minute, with senior captain Vanessa Martinez-Penn hitting the ball on-target from the top of the box. After their long-awaited first shot, the Rockets had no trouble hitting shot after shot at the Paint Branch goalie, but remained scoreless.

In the twenty-eighth minute, the Panthers got their first shot on goal as a long pass over the Rockets’ defense got to their forward’s foot way out on the line. Sophomore goalie Chloe Shankle easily handled the shot, punting it back out to the midfield where the team regained possession.

With eight minutes to go in the half, the two teams were still tied 0-0, but the Rockets created several more opportunities for themselves by repeatedly switching the field. The tie continued until halftime, where both teams huddled up to talk with their coaches.

While RM had the advantage over Paint Branch with a lot more shots and possession, the team had to step it up. The Panthers were repeatedly kicking the ball down the field and winning possession near the RM goal. The Rockets needed to step early and often, stopping these kick-and-run attacks before they could even start.

The Rockets also needed to increase their aggression, as the Panthers were easily throwing them off the ball with their bodies. Even though there were protests from the fans and the team about the continuous fouls committed against the RM team, the Rockets needed to toughen up and push back so as to not lose the ball.

The second half started with a kickoff by the Rockets, but ten minutes into the second half, a lapse of defense off a Paint Branch throw in led to a low shot by Panther forward. The ball slipped by sophomore goalie Hannah San Sebastian’s outstretched glove, rolling into the lower 90.

RM hit back hard, keeping the ball on Paint Branch’s half of the field for the majority of the game. With 20 minutes left in the game and a score of 1-0, the Rockets were getting nervous about a potential loss. A foul against Martinez-Penn in the center of the field led to a free kick taken by senior Patricia Swim. The shot was powerful and well-aimed, but unfortunately flew just over the crossbar.

The Rockets had another great chance nine minutes later, with a solid cross from sophomore Bryony Hollingsworth, but the Paint Branch goalie managed to grab the ball before it could hit the back of the net.

Paint Branch’s lead was still intact at the ten-minute mark, until freshman Delaney Goetz fought hard to gain possession of the ball in the box, hitting it straight past the goal into the net. The crowd went wild. Cheers and chants erupted from the stands, motivating the Rockets to score another goal. Three minutes later, the team delivered, as a breakaway shot from senior Brittany Royes-Fletcher bounced out of the goalie’s hand and straight to Goetz, who tapped it into the goal.

With only seven minutes left in the game, all the Rockets had to do was to maintain their lead, but Paint Branch worked hard and fast to get a goal. With one minute to go, the frustrated Panther coach lashed out at the ball girl for not giving them the ball fast enough, earning himself a yellow card.

Despite some slow points in the game, the Rockets worked diligently for this win. Sophomore Taylor Balfour explained, “We didn’t click at first, but once we did our combinations and our passing picked back up to its usual level and we came through with two goals to win the game.” The team celebrated their victory, along with their seniors, with the planned ceremony for the seniors after the match.  

Next week, the Rockets will compete in their first playoff match against one of the teams in their division, 4A South.

Click here to view the photos from the game.