NC varsity soccer teams walk away from Marietta in defeat

Giovanna Talone

The Warriors returned home with a devastating loss after playing an intense match against Marietta. With the Blue Devils hosting senior night, the fans and players’ energy remained high during the entire game. The NC 2022 season ends the week prior to spring break, with the last game played at home against Harrison’s Hoyas. Seniors from both teams prepare to play the last games of their high school careers next week while gaining support from family, teammates, coaches and friends.

Giovanna Talone, Reporter
April 1, 2022

The Warriors traveled to Marietta on Friday, March 25, to face off against the Blue Devils during their senior night after previously playing each other during the Warrior’s senior night just weeks prior. The Lady Warriors maintained a confident mindset for Friday’s game after previously beating Marietta 6-1. The boys’ team remained just as confident despite losing against Marietta 7-1. NC approaches the season’s end following spring break.

The girls played first and started out strong with high energy levels and excitement from fans and players. Junior forward Zia Tomlin (24) attempted several times to score in the first half but finished unsuccessfully. Marietta attempted scoring, but sophomore goalkeeper Hannah McLeod (22) denied their advances at the goal for the first half. Following halftime, the girls showed competitiveness fighting for every ball. With three minutes left in the game, Marietta managed to score the first goal of the night. NC pushed through and persevered during the final minutes. Unable to score, the Lady Warriors lost the game 1-0. 

“Going into the game the confidence level was high, we previously beat Marietta 6-1 so the team and I hoped we’d score early and have an easier game. The game was disappointing to the team. I think our biggest problem being we were not capitalizing on opportunities that we had. I do have high expectations for our performance during next week’s games,” junior defensive player Irelin Conrath (19) said.

Junior defense and midfielder captain Jason Ordoñez [3] guided his team and encouraged the boys throughout the game. Ordonez prevented Marietta from scoring alongside other defensive players like Senior captain Jordan Karim [2] and Sophomores Ryan Lungu [18] and Cade Alexander, but ultimately lost the game 2-0. “I always give my teammates positive reinforcement when playing and always let them know we are all humans and make mistakes so just because something isn’t going how we want it to, doesn’t mean it’s over. It just means we need to work harder to get what we want. After a loss like this, we always talk about the game and what could’ve been better. Then we try focusing on our weaknesses to make sure we don’t keep making those same mistakes,” Ordoñez said. (Giovanna Talone)
The boy’s match started similar to the girls’ game, with aggression and drive. In the first five minutes of the game, Marietta received a penalty kick and scored on Junior goalkeeper Amar Džonlić (1), gaining a 1-0 lead against the Warriors. With seven minutes left before halftime, the Blue Devils broke through NC’s defense scoring their second goal. The Warriors could not score before halftime, leaving Marietta ahead with a 2-0 lead. After reassessing during halftime, freshman forward and midfielder Andres Williams (27) attempted to score multiple goals but fell short. The ball stayed on Marietta’s side with NC obtaining possession throughout the majority of the second half. With the end game buzzer sounding off, Marietta cheered off the field after an exciting night for both teams. Despite the loss, NC held its heads high.

“The team’s performance Friday was a lot better than the performance from when we last played Marietta, but we could have kept the high energy during the full 80 minutes, not just some parts of the game. Our expectations for next week’s games are high and we want to end off the season on a great note. We want to make sure the other teams don’t want to go against us again. We’ve improved as a team since the beginning of the season off and on the field. Getting to know each other and practicing together really helped us get on the same page on the field improving our performance,” sophomore right-winger Alejandro Melendez (6) said. 

Marietta defeated both teams after close matches and great effort from NC. Varsity teams use Monday to prepare for the next match at Walton against the Raiders, Tuesday, March 29. The last soccer match of varsity’s 2022 season will take place at NC’s Emory Sewell Stadium Friday, April 1.