Gusts of wind nearing 20 miles per hour and freezing cold temperatures weren’t enough to stop the Mingus Union High School boys soccer squad, which defeated the Mesquite Wildcats 2-1 Dec. 14 in what was a strange turn of events.
“It was a very weird soccer game,” said Mingus head coach David Glick, while noting that the Marauders were down two starters. “There was a lot of stuff going on.”
The pitch at Mingus faced unusual conditions. The wind blew towards the student parking lot and south goal. Balls kicked in that direction carried about 20-yards further than they would on a calmer day.
Going toward the north goal, which Mingus did in the second half, limited ball movement. Upon leaving the ground, the soccer ball would seemingly stop in mid-air and drop straight down.
“It’s definitely hard when you’re going against [the wind],” said senior captain Marcus Bueno. “Especially when the keepers give a good ball … especially when they get height. When it comes down, it’ll travel past your head more than you think and then you’re playing catch-up.”
Needless to say, the unusual conditions forced Mingus to adjust.
“We tried to play a ground game more so while going towards the wind,” Glick said. “We hit the ball in the air a few more times than I would have liked.”
Mingus had the fortune of playing with the wind in the first half and took advantage. The wind carried a ball into the Mesquite goal less than 10 minutes into the match, with the goalkeeper unable to make the necessary adjustments to stop it.
The early goal allowed the Marauders to cater to defensive tactics going forward.
“With our first goal, the wind definitely played a character,” Bueno said. “It can definitely change a game pretty quick.”
With just under six minutes remaining in the first half and the Marauders’ time going towards the wind, senior Jaden Bazzil belted the ball past the Wildcats keeper on a one-on-one situation to put his team up 2-0 at the half.
After switching sides at the 40-minute mark, Mesquite got its turn in the prime attacking situation. It halved the Marauders’ lead just two-and-a-half minutes into the second half with a goal from just inside the penalty box.
Eight minutes into the half, however, the game took another strange turn. After a back-and-forth with the officials in a seemingly hostile tone, the entire varsity coaching staff for Mesquite was given red cards after a free kick was given to Mingus, leaving the junior varsity coach to take over duties. The on-field bickering lasted several minutes and ended with warnings issued to the players on field and some of the fans in the stands that the officials deemed to be uncivil.
“It was unfortunate that the game turned into a red-card fest with the other coaches but it is what it is,” Glick said. “It happens sometimes. We just have to be really careful … I brought the boys over and I said, ‘the first thing is — when you go back and play — you forget what happened five seconds ago.’”
Holding a one-goal lead for the final 37 minutes, the Marauders’ played relentless defense, fully knowing that scoring while going against the wind would be a tall task. They dropped midfielders back into the defensive zone and made sure to keep the soccer ball on the ground whenever possible.
“Towards the end we were trying to hold our defense and keep them from scoring,” Bueno said. “We wanted to push up when we could but didn’t want to stretch ourselves.”
The Marauders survived the gauntlet to move on to a 2-1 record through the opening homestand of the season. After a 3-1 road loss on Dec. 17 to Moon Valley, Mingus is 2-2 heading into winter break.
The Marauders’ next action takes place Dec. 28 and 29 when they take on Benjamin Franklin and Desert Mountain as part of the Bohdie Larson Celebration Classic at Red Mountain Park in Mesa. They’ll return to regular season action at home on Jan. 12 when the Peoria Panthers come to town for a 5 p.m. match.
