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From April 11 to 13, our boys’ varsity soccer team competed in APAC, which our school hosted. Schools that participated include; Shanghai American School Puxi (SASPX), Taejeon Christian International School (TCIS), Concordia International School of Shanghai (CISS), Brent International School of Manilla, International School of Beijing (ISB) and American International School of Guangzhou (AISG). Overall, the boys placed 6th. At the end of each APAC, 2 to 3 players from each team get an all-APAC award, which are the players who the coaches think performed well over the tournament. Sean P. and Rahul S. received the all-APAC award for AISG.
Thursday was the first day of APAC soccer. Going into the tournament, our boys were not the most confident in themselves. This season was tough as the majority of the team consisted of young and inexperienced players. The boys were not aiming for a high ranking, but rather to try their best and perform the best to their abilities. Our boys played the opening game against CISS, and although they lost 2-0, the boys learned that they were capable of competing with other APAC teams. The second and last game of the day for our boys was against ISB, which was a tough game. The boys lost 5-1, however, they would continue to try their best the next day.
Friday, April 12 was really hard, as many players were exhausted from the first day. Also, it was raining really heavily which made the conditions even harder. At certain places of the field, the ball wouldn’t move due to the puddles. The boys played against Brent to which they went down 1-0 in the first five minutes. They wouldn’t give up and continue to push and switch the momentum in their favor. However, the weather wasn’t in their favor and the second half of the game had to be delayed. Our boys played their hearts out and sadly lost 2-0, but it was a really tough game for Brent. The second game of the day was against TCIS and the boys lost 4-1. Although the boys had lost all of their games so far, they wouldn’t give up. Sophomore Sean P. stated, “it was really upsetting that we didn’t get a win as we played really hard, but that wasn’t going to slow us down.”
The final day of APAC was going to be really demanding for AISG, as our boys had back to back games. Our boys played against SASPX the first game and lost 4-0, however that wasn’t going to discourage them for their last game. The 5th and 6th place game was going to be AISG against CISS and the boys planned to win this game. It started off really well with the boys getting to an early lead—with Danny K. scoring from a header. AISG held their lead until the second half when number 19 from Concordia assisted a great goal. Our boys have a tendency to get discouraged and give up after they concede, which is partially due to the fact that the team is young. However, it was different this time. They got the ball out of the goal and continued to keep up the high intensity. Finally, AISG’s high pressure broke CISS down and Danny K. scored his second goal. There was still 10 minutes left and the game wasn’t over. In the last minute of the game, CISS scored a great goal from a free kick. The game ended a tie, which meant that it would go to penalties. Sadly, the penalties did not go our way and we lost the game. Freshmen Heer P. stated, “I am really proud of how we performed in the last game. Although we didn’t get the last game, I believe we played the right way, as a team.”
Although our boys came last, there were a lot of positives. Since the team is very young, the majority of the team will stay the same, which is good as the boys won’t have to spend time learning each other’s game. Co-captain Sameer S. stated, “I am really proud of how the team improved as a team over this season. Everyone stepped up and played any role that was asked. I really think our boys will improve and do much better in the next few years.”
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