Downpouring rain, yellow cards, and injuries sum up last night’s soccer game. The Metea boys’ soccer team held a 1-1 tie in their season opener against Streamwood High School.

The first half was all Metea. There were a multitude of chances down both wings but then the team struggled to find the back of the net early on. Finally, after a tense 25 minutes, the boys combined well on the attack.  Senior Joey Donovan was able to put it past Sabres goalkeeper to break the 0-0 deadlock. “It felt very relieving to score the first goal because the past couple of years I haven’t been scoring as much as I’d like to. And getting that first goal after only 20 minutes was a nice payoff for all the work we’ve been putting in,” Donovan said.

The Streamwood Sabres bounced back after the Metea goal. It took a diving save from senior goalkeeper Gandhi Cruz late in the first half to keep them off the scoreboard. “I’m super happy about how the team performed in the game today. We worked so hard, and I’m super excited for the rest of the season,” Cruz said.

The Mustangs went into halftime with a 1-0 advantage and it appeared as if they wouldn’t look back. That proved not to be the case. Two minutes into the second half, Streamwood equalized on a free kick that landed out of reach of Cruz. Sabres midfielder Alejandro Morales took control and tapped it into the back of the net to tie the game up at one. Later in the half, senior Abraham Antar found a striker in the box. After some bouncing around, the Mustangs thought to have scored their second point

Unfortunately, the linesman ruled the goal offside. Metea had another great chance with 15 minutes to go.  The Mustangs lead to a one on one chance for senior Joey Donovan. The boys had a final chance with a minute to go, but the free-kick found nobody. The ball strolled out of bounce to end a frustrating night at their home field. “We should have come out on top today. Our guys deserved one or two more goals, but it is what it is. Hopefully, we can get the win next time,” Cruz said. While the result itself was disappointing, the squad was not disappointed. Their, prowess, togetherness, and communication on the field is something to keep an eye on.

The Mustangs hope to keep improving when they visit Jacobs High School on Thursday.