We lost, but so what?
Yes, we the boys soccer team suffered our first loss of the season yesterday 2-0 against Warrensburg-Latham, the No. 2 seed in our sectional. But it’s really OK. The game yesterday had no bearing on the seeding process, which already took place, so we still have the No. 1 seed, which will give us a relatively easy path to the sectional final. And should we meet the Redbirds again in that final, we’ll have a better idea now of the quality we’re dealing with, and will be more prepared psychologically for the game.
In fact, losing to them may give us the psychological advantage in a postseason rematch. Two years ago we defeated Judah during the regular season by two goals on our home field, just as Warrensburg-Latham did to us. By the time the playoffs came around, however, we didn’t want to play Judah again because we were afraid that they would be more motivated for our second meeting than we would be. Our tentative play in the regional semifinal when we did cross paths with our conference foes once again caused us to lose, ending a season that should have ended with a regional championship.
When the sectional final comes around you can be sure we’ll be ready to play, no matter who our opponent is. And should it be Warrensburg-Latham, we’ll have nothing to lose.
— Michael Belmont