After a month of practice and hard work, Venado produced two strong teams for the Irvine Harvest Cup Soccer Tournament (an all boys team and a co-ed team). This past weekend, the teams suited up and competed against all of the other middle school teams in Irvine. Our all-boys squad squared off with two-time defending champions Vista Verde in their first match. The score was tied 1:1 at halftime due to solid performances by goalie Ray K. and sweeper Sohum C., as well as the rest of the defense. Venado narrowly lost the match to the defending championship by conceding a goal in the last couple minutes of the match. The team entered their second match with confidence and fire, and defeated Cadence Park 7-0, led by 7th grader Azim M., who scored three goals in the match. The final game for this team was another hard-fought defeat against a strong squad from South Lake. Our co-ed team, led by their passionate and knowledgeable coach Mat Moore, all played very competitively in the tournament, amassing several impressive goals and cohesive overall team play. In their first game against Utt Middle School, this squad battled hard, and came away with a tie 2:2. One of the highlights of the game was a spectacular headed goal from 7th grader David I.! In the team’s second match, 7th grader Samantha V. came within inches of scoring a shot from the halfway line in the middle of the field, but Venado unfortunately came up short against an experienced Jeffrey Trail team. Overall, Coach Muzz Mithaiwala was thrilled with the teams’ efforts, and is confident in the team’s potential for next year, commenting that “most of our team is in seventh grade, so we are excited to have a strong 8th grade team returning next year!