Albany Soccer Stomps Piedmont

On Friday, December 11, while most of us were huddled at home, drinking the hot beverage of our choice, the Albany High varsity soccer teams were battling on the field against their Piedmont rivals. Piedmont has long been the dominant team in the BSAL, but on Friday, the tables were turned. In the pouring rain, Albany’s varsity soccer teams beat Piedmont in a combined score of 10 – 1.

At Piedmont, the women’s varsity was triumphant with a score of 4 – 1. Junior Jessica Quinn scored in each half. Piedmont retaliated with a lone goal during the second half, but sophomore Marissa Wise scored twice, nailing the hole in Piedmont’s coffin. Wise remarked, “It was very intense.”

While the girls were opening up a can of whoop-butt at Piedmont, the varsity men were doing the same on Cougar Field. With a final score of 6 – 0, this game was described as “revenge” for years past when Piedmont beat Albany.

Sophomore Gabriel Borges and junior Manuel Ramirez both scored two goals.

Seniors Juliano Pereira and Seena Nadimi both scored as well, though Nadimi’s goal was a result of a header assisted by a Piedmont player who inadvertently kicked it in the goal. Junior Yusuf Zaka exulted, “We dominated them!”

The day before, Albany’s JV soccer teams beat both Piedmont’s JV teams.

The women’s junior varsity game was at Piedmont. They defeated Piedmont despite the extremely cold weather with a score of 2 – 0. Sophomores Hanna McPheron and Dierdre Theis made these goals. But this was the least dramatic of the Albany wins. One JV girl was disappointed in her team’s performance, calling it “sloppy,” and noted it could have been improved.

The men’s junior varsity played at home at Cougar field and shut Piedmont out with a score of 4 – 0. Sophomore Enrique Gomez made all four goals.

Junior Alex Muschler noted, “It’s been a while since we’ve kicked Piedmont’s [expletive deleted].”

This string of soccer successes against Piedmont may well be a turning point for the Albany soccer teams. A couple of years ago, Albany was routinely beaten by Piedmont, but with an influx of new players, Albany is on the route to become the dominant team in the BSAL.

Marissa Wise summed it up, “They’re a really good team, and we want to show them we’re actually competition.”