Following a win against Terra Linda that vaulted them into second place in MCALs, the boys’ varsity soccer team was riding a wave of momentum heading into the playoffs, but on Wednesday that positive momentum came screeching to a halt.

The boys’ varsity soccer team was eliminated by Marin Catholic when the Wildcats scored late in the second half to secure a 1-0 victory in the MCAL semi-final.

Marin Catholic scored in the latter stage of the game from a header that was delivered from a free kick just outside Redwood’s penalty area. The free kick occurred after a disputed hand ball  by senior Jack Elton, and then the ensuing free kick was headed in by Marin Catholic on the back post.

“The game really could have gone either way,” head coach Brandon Murphy said. “It was a tough loss for them to win like that, but give them credit: they found a way to score and we didn’t.”

The game was physical from the beginning, with multiple yellow cards and forceful mid-air collisions dominating the game.

“It was definitely a physical game, it’s always physical when we play MC,”  Murphy said. “Both teams were under the microscope given what happened three weeks ago.”

That incident involved Redwood midfielder Lucas Wong, who was suspended for the last two regular season games and additionally the entirety of the MCAL playoffs for an altercation with a Marin Catholic player. According to Murphy, this made the rematch especially tense.

Additionally, the team’s leading scorer, Sasha Boussina, said that he sustained a concussion after clashing heads with two different Marin Catholic players.

Although the opposing defenses continued to shutout the opposing offenses for most of the second half, Marin Catholic scored with approximately 10 minutes remaining in the match.

Regardless, the Giants still had chances to take the lead through numerous corner kicks and dangerous offensive plays from Boussina and forward Peter Mascheroni.

The Wildcats had chances too: just before halftime, Marin Catholic momentarily took the lead on another header, but the goal was disallowed on a delayed offside call by the referees.

Murphy said he thought it was unfortunate how the game ended, but told his players to keep their heads held high for the upcoming NCS tournament, which begins next week for the varsity soccer team.