Panthers Men's Soccer Team Win on a Special Day

By Shaya Silberstein

Nivek Palmer and Luca Li Vigni taking a photo op for Senior day. (by Shaya Silberstein)

On Senior Day, the Men's soccer team faced off against the Sarah Lawrence Gryphons, winning 2-1. 

Coming off two losses, the Panthers were looking to get back on track, as they started strong, taking most of the possession and shots in the first half. They started the scoring by a goal in the 19th minute, which was by Yahir Tafoya, and that would be the only score of the first half, as they outshot the Gryphons 6-1.

The second half would be a different story, as they would not be able to control the ball. Early in the second half, Tafoya scored his second goal of the game, and the Panthers would let up one a few minutes later. The Panthers ultimately held off the Gryphons and won. 

Anthony Goncalves getting control of the ball. (By Shaya Silberstein)

"We lost focus, and we lost intensity," as Coach Bruno Ferreira said a little frustratedly about the second half performance of the game, "We lost a lot of things that we do, and we just did not perform in the second half, in the first half we did better. In the second half, we went to sleep."

Players on the team felt the same way, "I think we started off well, but in the second half we started playing to their level," freshman biology major, Aylwyn Ganzhi-Siguencia, as he said enthusiastically but a little frustrated, "which resulted in them scoring a goal. Like coach said, we started off amazing, but then the second half started, we played horribly, it was embarrassing to be honest."

"I mean, we didn't perform our best," said senior psychology and communication major, Nivek Palmer, "but we got the result, we could have always done better." 

The Panthers and Gryphons sprinting down the field. (Photo by Shaya Silberstein)

As it was senior day, honoring the soon-to-be graduates on the team, Palmer, accompanied by Luca Li Vigni, talked about what it was like to be part of the event. "Probably the process leading up to it, talking about how we're going to try to do our best as we always do to dedicate this game to Luca and me, and luckily we came out with the result."

Coach Ferreira spoke on what the impact Luca and Nivek had on the team as a whole, "They're leaders, they set a high standard for our team. I think overall they tried their hardest today, things just weren't working out for us in the second half. I know they wished for a better performance, but overall, it was good."