Soccer Opens With 5-3 OT Win Against Kingman Academy

The MALC Soccer team kicked off their season last night with a 5-3 overtime win against the Kingman Academy Of Learning Tigers at Rotary Park. Less than a minute after the opening kick, Marco Mejia drove in the first goal to take the lead. Christian Badilla followed up with another goal soon after before Kingman scored to end the first half 2-1.

Mejia drove in another goal in the second half, but got red carded with about fifteen minutes remaining. His ejection left the team with only ten players on the field to the Tigers' eleven and and Kingman drove in another two goals to tie it up 3-3 and send the game into overtime. The Patriots rallied back, however, with a goal by Adan Lazcano in the first overtime half and another goal by Badilla in the second while holding Kingman scoreless.

The Patriots were led defensively by Juan Hartman, Jr., whose speed and agility thwarted the Tigers' offense throughout the night. Tobie Jenkins, an 8th grader, blocked 15 shots as goalkeeper in her first game as a MALC player.

Head coach Todd McIntyre took over the reins this year and was excited by what he saw from his team last night. "Don't give up when you're down," he said. "Our team found ourselves under the gun last night with a tied up score and player down, but they played to win and finished strong."

The Patriots will face their next opponent next Thursday, March 11. Telesis Prep, from Lake Havasu City, will take the field against them at 5:30pm at Rotary Park near Firebird Field.