By Andrea Castiblanco
Sports Editor
As the new year welcomes back school and its students from the holidays, soccer returns to dominate the field at MAST Academy.
MAST soccer ended the 2020 year with remarkable standings, as the boys remained undefeated at that point and the girls continued to hold onto a winning streak of their own.
The boys jumped back into their season with their first game of the new year on January 5 at home against Gulliver Prep. The boys took the game with a 2-1 win. Senior Franco Grotolla and junior Ignacio Garcia led the way to victory with each scoring a goal of their own. “The seniors create such a great energy for the team, you can really feel that they want to win not just for themselves, but for us all,” said sophomore center attacking midfielder Lucas Keller Sarmiento about the upperclassmen on the team.
The team started 2021 with the same urge to win as they closed off 2020, but now as the players are closer and friendships are tighter, there is more of a collective and family-felt effort amongst the group. The boys held tight to their perfect season as they controled the game on January 8 against American High School with a 7-0 win.
The Lady Makos shared the same uplifting spirit as the boys, both on and off the field. After a loss against TERRA at home on January 5, the girls were not disillusioned by the defeat but empowered to continue fighting. On January 7, the girls dominated North Miami Senior High with a 8-0 win and the energy never left as they conquered Coral Reef Senior High with another win on January 11. “The game against North Miami reminded us to just play our game and to trust each other. Those eight goals were nothing but teamwork and an example of what we can accomplish together,” said junior Maria Cortes.
For the boys, new energy came with new attire, too. The boys received new gear from BSN Sports Miami earlier this month, including new jerseys of our traditional school colors, red and white.
As hard work always pays off, the boys are currently ranked 20thin the nation due to their resilient undefeated season. “Hearing that my team was nationally ranked was such a proud moment for it showed that all our hard work was being acknowledged. We felt proud to be representing MAST Academy soccer and to be a part of this team,” said sophomore Jorge Feijo. The boys stretched their winning streak to January 11, as they beat Coral Reef at home with a 3-1 victory, advancing to the GMAC Semifinals.
On January 13, GMAC semi finals were held at home and the boys fought Miami Beach Senior High in a tough game, resulting in the first loss of the season. No strangers to adversity, the boys soccer team worked hard towards a hungry comeback against La Salle on January 19, but fell short to the Royal Lions in a 3-2 loss. The boys quickly bounced back from their loss with a 3-0 win against TERRA on January 22. On January 25, the boys played against Belen Jesuit at home, but after a long and hard match they lost 1-0. “We might go through our ups and downs, but the team never enters or exits the field with our heads low because we know we gave it our all and we did it together” said senior Lorenzo Rosso-Mai.
The girls held their title of number one seed at the GMAC tournament as they soared through quarter finals due to their win over Coral Reef, claiming a spot in semifinals against Coral Gables on January 13. The game was held at Coral Gables Senior High where the girls claimed victory over the Cavaliers with a 3-0 game. The Lady Makos advanced to play TERRA on January 15 for GMAC Finals but unfortunately lost to the Wolves in a 1-0 game. On January 19, the girls took another loss at home against La Salle in a 1-0 game. They took the next week to strengthen their game and on January 26 the girls dominated S.L.A.M. in a 6-0 game to close off their season.