On Thursday April 7, the boys soccer team entered into one of the most highly contested games of the year against James River. This crosstown rival had a record of 4-1 before entering the game. The boys stepped on to the pitch on windy, chilly, and rainy evening looking to beat their crosstown rival.

From the start, the weather definitely had an impact on game; players were sliding around on the pitch and unable to find proper footing when taking a shot. Midlothian took control of most of the possession, finding ways to send through balls down the sidelines to the team’s two prime finishers, Taylor Vest and Connor Rea; however, neither of them could put the ball in the back of the net. About ten minutes before halftime, a James River player who used to play with many of the Midlothian players back in middle school at Midlothian Middle, Jack Eastman, put the ball in the back of the net by diving for a cross into the middle and hitting it off his shoulder. Many of the players regarded this goal as bittersweet, since it was a close friend who scored the goal. As halftime came, the game was 1-0.

The second half started with a heavier downpour of rain and greater gusts of wind. Midlothian began to slowly lose control of the game, allowing James River to gain most of the possession and keeping the ball on Midlothian’s half. A second goal occurred about ten minutes into the second half, as the Midlothian defenders passed the ball around and lost possession to an attacker, who quickly slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.

With about 12 minutes left on the clock, the game ended early due to lightning, leaving Midlothian with a 0-2 loss in one of their biggest games of the year. Captains Ian Conner and Connor Rea said, ¨We didn’t play as well as we could have, and it was difficult to come back from an early goal; however, in the future we look to play at a higher intensity from the start.