The Foothill Tech offense was comparable, at least in some sense, to Tom Brady, according to the Trinity boys soccer coaching staff.
“If you let Tom Brady sit back in the pocket with no pressure, he’s going to pick you apart,” said Knights coach Greg Hayes. “And that’s what was happening. We were giving them way too much space and they were picking us apart.”
MORE: Trinity girls soccer drops wild-card game in 2OT
The Dragons didn’t need a Super Bowl-esque comeback on Wednesday afternoon, shutting out the Knights 6-0 in a CIF-Southern Section Division 7 wild-card matchup.
Trinity (9-7-1) was able to hold off Foothill Tech for the majority of the first half, allowing the first goal in the 25th minute, then another in the 35th.
But the Knights, who were in their first playoff appearance since the 2013-14 season, were facing a dearth of energy just as the Dragons were beginning to surge.
With extra players in the back, Trinity’s defense opened the second half marking men and doubling up on opposing playmakers.
“They had a lot of skill, they can dribble,” said forward Drew Black. “But if we just take away their space and go body to body with them, there’s a lot less they can do with it.”
Foothill Tech (7-7-2) didn’t face enough pressure, however, and piled on four more goals over the course of the second half, all long-distance shots from beyond the box.
“(It was) lack of coverage,” Hayes said. “That’s a communication thing sometimes, but also a lack of ball pressure. They’re really skilled, and you can’t give players like that space. And they were really comfortable.”
Despite the loss, Trinity is pleased with the progress made this year. Last year, the team only had one win on the entire season.
In Hayes’ first season as head coach, he pushed his team to take the game more seriously and focused on rebuilding the team from the fundamentals up.
“We’ve been able to develop a stronger defensive side,” said defender Ben Wexler. “And I feel like we could see it throughout this game.”
