The Watkins Mill High School varsity Boys Soccer team beat the Rockville Rams 2-1 and is now on their way to the regional finals against Blake on Halloween.

The first goal scored during the game was in the second half of the game by junior Derek Cabezas Rodriguez which tied the score leading us into a 10-minute overtime.

“Oh my god, this was such an exciting game! I’m so proud of them,” said principal Vilma Nájera. Only a couple minutes into the second half, Derek scored once more with a header into the middle left side of the goal. 

“This is a Watkins Mill’s comeback guys. This is a very important moment,” said sophomore Camila Pupo. The team was undefeated until their last game against Blake. They never gave up and kept pushing for another win.

“We’ve had a lot of struggles, we’ve been losing game after game and now after playing against Magruder one more time, it gave us the confidence and the hype that we needed to come out here to Rockville,” senior goalie Hector Olivia Jr said. The struggles with communication especially during the  COVID-19 pandemic have also affected the team. 

“It’s something we haven’t had in several years since COVID and this shows that even after COVID we can get back where we should be,” said the assistant coach Bryan Lanham.

Even though they lost a good game to Blake, the team is ready for a comeback.

“Every year after the pandemic, we have come closer and closer and even if we lose I’m still proud of how far we’ve come,” said head coach Joshua Halper.

Come with friends and family to show support as the ‘Rines will travel to take on  James Hubert Blake Bengals on October 31 at 6 p.m. to fight to win the 3A West Region 2 finals. Good luck to our boys’ soccer team!