It was a somber moment on the Richard Montgomery bench as the boys soccer team slowly gathered their belongings. Hands were shaken, hugs were given, but gone were the smiles seen so many times throughout the season. Last out was captain Aram Sahakyan, followed by his coach.

After winning the last two games with shutout scores, the season came to a close with a 3-1 defeat against Montgomery Blair high school.

The first half started in the Rockets’ favor. Just seven minutes into the game, senior Noah Ventimiglia made an attempt that fell just a little to the right. Unfazed, the team continued to keep the ball on the Blazers side of the field.

For the next 30 minutes, the Rockets continued to take advantage of corner kicks and free kicks, making a total of five close attempts but no goals.

With 10 minutes left, a commotion in front of Blair’s goal left Rockets fans on the edge of the seat, but the ball went out of bounds after bouncing off of the crossbar twice.

One of Blair’s few attempts on goal during the first quarter came minutes later, but the ball was kicked too high.

It wasn’t until five minutes remained in the first half, that the Rockets would get an opportunity to get past Blair’s resilient defense. After an RM player was brought down in Blair’s 18-yard box, Sahakyan was selected to take the penalty kick. Sahakyan flawlessly placed the ball on the bottom right side of the goal, bringing the score to 1-0 in the Rockets favor.

Unfortunately, Blair returned the favor in the second half, scoring within the first five minutes, tying the game. It was clear that the Rockets were in trouble as Blair had another close attempt a few minutes later.

Then, with 15 minutes left, a fast break resulted in a second goal from the Blazers, putting Blair in the lead.

Fortunately, a third goal was avoided as Hector Ramos kicked the ball out of bounds after it rolled in front of an empty net off of keeper Jacob Klosowski’s save.

The luck didn’t last long, however, as a second free kick from Blair sailed into the right side of the goal, bringing the score to 3-1.

The rest of the game remained uneventful. The Rockets picked up the energy levels, bringing the ball back to Blair’s side for the last few minutes but it was just too late.

As Sahakyan later put it “We gave them the game in the second half, there wasn’t much to be upset about, it was our fault.

Despite the disappointing loss, there were many positives to be had looking back on the season. “Honestly, I’m amazed, I couldn’t be much prouder,” Coach Edgar said. “This is the best group I’ve had in the last two years of coaching. Last year was amazing too but this year, these boys gave it their all, and it was just amazing.”