Bahrain’s Lindo Letsoko sends the ball toward the net for his second of three goals in a 3-3 tie with Vicenza on Friday, April 12, 2024. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
VICENZA, Italy – Dominating half a soccer match is certainly not a bad thing. But when opposing teams both manage the trick, the results can be just like they were Friday when the Vicenza boys hosted Bahrain.
The Cougars came back from a 3-0 halftime deficit to earn a 3-3 tie in a game that featured dramatically different play in half the game by both teams, but remarkably similar results.
Bahrain, playing its second match in Italy in as many weekends, looked like it was in cruise control by halftime after Lindo Letsoko found the net three times, twice by outrunning Cougar defenders to the ball after long passes before sending it into the net. On his other goal, the ball deflected off a Vicenza defender to cross up Cougar goalkeeper Arthur Shore, who was heading in a different direction.
After that, though, almost all the highlights were from Vicenza.
“We kind of let that one slip away,” Bahrain coach Emiliano Herrera said. “I don’t think we ran out of gas. We probably just played too defensively.”
Vicenza, outshot 12-4 in the opening half, wore the same uniforms but looked like a different team immediately after halftime, taking four shots in the opening minutes and tallying a goal when Jalen Robertson converted a penalty kick. He booted the ball into the lower right corner as Bahrain keeper Jacob Courts guessed he’d be going to the left.
After a long lull, Vicenza was back again as Robertson netted goal No. 2 by fighting off a defender and booting the ball into the same right corner.
“I like that spot a lot,” Robertson admitted with a smile.
Not long after, he notched his second hattrick of the season – following a five-goal effort against Aviano – by almost mirroring the second one.
The Cougars then almost took the lead shortly thereafter, but Triston Miletich’s shot hit the crossbar and bounced away. Neither team had a good chance after that before time ran out.
“I think we knew we had a shot to win this game, but we just weren’t playing like it in the first half,” Robertson said.
Vicenza coach John Kohut said a few changes in strategy helped. Notably, the Cougars matched up closer with Bahrain in the midfield and warily monitored Lestoko’s runs closer to their own goal.
“It was a good match,” Kohut said. “I’m happy.”
In a battle of Number 3s, Bahrain’s Thor Cies and Vicenza’s Andrew McGovern try to gain control of the ball in a 3-3 tie Friday, April 12, 2024. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza’s Jalen Robertson scores on a penalty kick - his first of three goals in the Cougars’ 3-3 tie with Bahrain on Friday, April 12, 2024. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Bahrain’s NK Gumede heads the ball before Vicenza’s Ken Tapong can get to it Friday, April 12, 2024, as the two teams tied 3-3 in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Girls
The girls battle also looked like it was headed to a tie – a scoreless one – before the Cougars eventually found the net.
Kayla Steimle, running alongside a Bahrain defender, somehow managed to boot the ball into the net late in the final half after a series of Vicenza runs on goal continually fell short.
The Cougars, still suffering the aftereffects of a team-wide sickness that had many players missing much of the last week of school, didn’t allow Bahrain a shot on goal in the first half. But they weren’t all that effective themselves, with none of their seven attempts particularly dangerous.
“We forced them to take long shots,” Bahrain coach Chad Shyrock said while counting off a short list of positives. “Half our team was probably playing the second soccer game they’ve ever played, so …”
One of those positives wasn’t keeping possession. But that was also the case for Vicenza as the match featured only a few instances where either team could manage to string together more than a few passes. Much of the game was a back-and-forth affair in the midfield.
Vicenza coach Philip Paniagua said three missing seniors out with injuries and the illness combined to sap the team’s effectiveness.
“Our girls know how to play, but they’re just not healthy right now,” he said.
Vicenza’s Penelope Gaspard prepares to send a corner kick towards a teammate Friday, April 12, 2024, in the Cougars’ 1-0 victory over Bahrain. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza’s Natalia Lopez has Bahrain’s Jasmin Courts on her toes Friday, April 12, 2024, during the Cougars’ 1-0 victory. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza’s Julia Rudy watches her shot on goal head toward Bahrain keeper Jayda Miller on Friday, April 12, 2024 in the Cougars’ 1-0 victory. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza’s Penelope Gaspard and Bahrain’s Haya Al Nusuf battle for the ball Friday, April 12, 2024, in the Cougars 1-0 victory. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
