Farris Qranfal and Chouaib Saidi contributed to this article.
In eight games, the Malden Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team has yet to obtain their first win. So far, they have lost six games to Somerville, Lowell, Lynn Classical, Methuen, Chelsea, and Revere. Along with two draws against Everett and Medford, this has them sitting at 57th of the MIAA Division 1 power rankings.
The slow start to the season can be attributed to many factors. However, the most prominent cause is the lack of production on the attacking end. Against all opponents, Malden has conceded 25 goals, while only scoring eight of their own. “Goals have been the main issue. It comes down to things like people being afraid to shoot, unlucky bounces, or not getting the right chance,” said junior Yasser Belatreche.
“Honestly, I believe we have a pretty solid team, but at some points, it’s felt like things were against us. In most games, we came out pretty strong despite the score but lacked that final push. We’ve been creating many chances but have struggled to put the ball in the back of the net,” said senior captain Yohanes Megerssa.
Another struggle Malden has faced as a winless team has been staying motivated. “We all want to win but we seem to fall apart after 2 or more goals [conceded],” said senior Matteo Tah. “It’s hard to push for that last 40 minutes, both teams start to feel fatigued at some point and that can easily be taken advantage of,” Tah added.
“Honestly speaking, our mindset before the first game was better than it is now. But after we get that first win we’re striving for, the tables will turn in our favor. In our first game, we didn’t have zero wins in eight games, but now we do. That’s why our mindset is a little changed but we know our objective,” said junior captain Sandesh Ghimire.
Pictured to the left: Omar Chouiki ensuring his team discusses strategy. CHOUAIB SAIDI
Despite the rough start to the year, Malden can still make a push for States. The team believes they can overcome the start and are ready to make it happen. “I feel like these games don’t define us because we are much better than that. As captain, I still believe this team has a lot of quality to win some games and these losses are just lessons that we can learn from,” said Megerssa.
“Of course being winless does take an emotional toll on the team, but I still sense the hunger for some wins. The main thing is keeping a positive mindset for the remainder of the season and staying united because we’re not just a team, we are a family,” Megerssa added.
“I think our team is pretty decent. Despite not winning a game yet, we haven’t played badly at all. In almost all the games we played, we played very competitively, we played like we wanted to win, but something in our team was just not clicking. We know what we’ve been doing wrong, now it’s just about fixing mistakes and getting results,” said Ghimire.
“As captain, I would say, our season will turn around. The boys have been working hard and will continue to do so to reach our goal of making states this year. States is still our main objective. Our main focus. We will give it our all to make it happen,” said Ghmire.
