By Riley Simpson
Sports Editor
The boys’ soccer team’s season came to an unexpected close Wednesday night, when a 4-1 loss to Carmel Catholic High School knocked them out of regional play.  Had the boys won against Carmel, they would have played against Deerfield on Friday Oct. 23.
The Knights had a number of injured players, including seniors Kyle Mataloni and Victor LaPorte, yet both still played in the first half.  Mataloni, suffering from back issues said that he tried to do the best for his team, not wanting another loss like last week’s against Palatine.
“I tried to stay in as long as I could,” Mataloni said, “but it didn’t really help.”
LaPorte, who left the game before halftime due to shin splints, said that the team didn’t come into the first half with the right mindset.
“Some kids probably got nervous, but the main thing [in the first half] was being in the right set of mind,” LaPorte said, “and we just weren’t there.”
According to Mataloni, the team wasn’t performing strongly on defense, leaving too many holes open and lacking in communication, including one play in the first half when an opponent was left wide open near the goal, leading to a Carmel score.
Mataloni said that the Knights outscored Carmel in the second half 1-0, dominating because they didn’t have any weaknesses.
“If only we could have played like that in the first half,” he said.
LaPorte said that the team really stepped up their game in the second half, after trailing 4-0 at halftime.
“We had a lot of momentum going,” he said, “but we couldn’t find the back of the net enough.”
Junior Mike Hamman attributed the team’s loss to crucial mistakes made in the first half, allowing the Knights to fall behind.
“[We] got down too early,” he said. “[There was] too big of a hole to climb out of.”