The men’s varsity soccer team lost in a hard-fought battle against Potomac in the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAC) tournament championship game on Oct. 30.
Both teams finished the season with a record of 8–2–2. GDS has not beaten Potomac in five seasons; the Hoppers are 0–8–2 in their last ten matchups with the Panthers.
GDS tied one game and lost one game of their two matchups against the Panthers during the regular season. Most recently, in the last game of the season, GDS and Potomac tied, securing their spot as MAC regular season co-champions. Potomac was seeded first in the standings because of the head-to-head record.
“Our first game against them, we really didn’t play well, but we had some chances, and we let in two goals on set pieces,” head coach Quinn Killy said. “And then when we played them here, they just played super direct and launched things over the top, and we just couldn’t generate offense. We just didn’t have enough pressure, so I thought they had the better of us.”
At the start of the first half, Potomac showed why they were the top seed. For the first ten minutes, the Panthers dominated possession. Their midfield pushed the ball ahead and created chances for their attack, and their defense did not allow any counterattack opportunities.
Early in the first half, Potomac threatened to score. On a corner kick, senior Julian Lucas blocked an attempt on a header that would have put Potomac ahead early. Senior goalkeeper Benji Gold dove to his right and reached his hand out to make a save.
Once the Hoppers settled in, the opportunities to score developed. Senior TJ Jones was beating his defender on the right side and sending in crosses to attackers. The attack did not get many clean looks but still generated offensive pressure.
After several chances, sophomore Justin Heffernan got the ball from a rebound off the goalkeeper’s hands and passed to junior Nathan Tureck, but his shot was blocked by a defender.
The first half ended 0–0.
In the second half, the intensity rose. This half was filled with slide tackles, diving saves, skill moves and shots rebounding off the post, and possession swung back and forth between teams.
Offensively, the Hoppers had many shots on goal but could not score on the Potomac goalkeeper.
“Their defense was doing a great job of winning long balls out of the air, but once we got the ball down, we had a bit more success through the middle when we switched the point of attack,” Tureck said. “I think we had a pretty good offensive game overall, just could not find the last pass or finish a couple of our better chances.”
Defensively, the Hoppers stood strong. Junior Ryan Granowitter was a standout player. Most of the Panthers offense operated on the right side of the field, where Granowitter stood his ground, winning multiple one-on-one matchups against attackers.
(Granowitter is on the Bit’s staff.)
“Ryan in specific was so good—in my opinion, one of our best players on the pitch today—and gave 100 percent effort the whole game,” senior Mikhail Westelius said. “He should keep his head high, as that was one of his best games this season, and he has really stepped up this year in a position we needed to fill.”
Yet his performance alone was not enough. Near the end of the match, Potomac drew a foul at the top of the box and was awarded a free kick. The shot attempt deflected off a GDS defender and returned to Potomac possession. As the Hoppers scrambled to return to their position, the player passed the ball to an attacker on the left, leading to a clean shot and goal and giving Potomac the 1–0 lead.
Later in the game, Granowitter fouled a Potomac attacker in the box, leading to an emphatic penalty kick goal to cap off a 2–0 loss for the Hoppers.
“Look, I mean, our season isn’t over, but we’ve had a great season,” Killy said after the game. “Whenever you set a tone and an expectation of winning, the team wanted to win and believed we could win. We’ve only lost three times [this season], so losing is not easy.” The team beat Calvin Coolidge High School in the first round of the District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) tournament on Nov. 4 before losing to Washington International School in the quarterfinal the following day.
There are ten seniors on the team who all played their last MAC league game. Despite the disappointment, Westelius remained proud of what they had achieved. “As a senior, it’s obviously sad to see us lose after coming so far, but I’m honestly proud of the team and the way we have played up to this point,” Westelius said. “Regardless of the fact that the feeling of losing is a sour feeling, I know I’ll look back at this season overall knowing that we surpassed expectations and had a lot of fun doing it.”