From the moment the game kicked off, Georgetown Day and their fans looked -- and sounded -- like they were ready to make up for last year’s loss to Sidwell in the MAC championship game. Lead by seniors Mike Klain and Aaron Gottesman, GDS did just that.
The Mighty Hoppers defeated the Sidwell Quakers 2-1, a victory that shocked the MAC soccer world. Before Sunday, Sidwell hadn’t lost a game at home in five years, and hadn’t lost a MAC game in four years.
The scoring started off when Klain headed a bouncing ball passed goalie Marc Greenberg and sent the green-clad fans into frenzy. Klain says that he is unsure about playing at the next level, but the skill and leadership he showed in Sunday’s game showed that he defiantly could.
Sidwell, who was missing captain Curtis Oberg and senior David Geshwind due to the State Cup Final, had to rely on Captain Ben Citrin to lead them to victory. Citrin did the best he could by scoring a goal to even the score at one minutes into the second half. Citrin’s efforts, however, were not enough to come out with the victory, as Gottesman scored in the 77th minute to seal the championship for the Hoppers.
“It felt really good, especially after what happened last year, it just felt good to come back and get a win over our big rivals," said Klain. “This team might not have been our most skilled, but we defiantly fought, and we got the win.”
Senior Zak Kirstein scored what seemed to be the tying goal in the 80th minute but it was called off on a disputed offside’s call.
“Now that we know how good a championship tastes, you know were going to come back next year and want to take it again," says Junior Benjamin Pockros, who was sidelined with a broken leg.
