It didn’t take long for Republic soccer to recover from one of its most lopsided losses in recent years. A day after losing to Glendale 8-0, Republic stepped up its performance on both ends of the field, beating Willard 2-0.
Coach Jesus Zuniga said it was good for his team to be back on the field 24 hours after losing so badly.
“I struggled with how we ended things yesterday. I could have been really harsh on them, and then I had realized they’re already defeated. I’m not gonna make it worse,” Zuniga said. “So we talked about a lot of the highs we’ve had this season, and can we carry that into today? My biggest challenge for them was, ‘Let’s flip the script.'”
One focus against Willard was the defense, which gave up eight goals in a half against Glendale Monday.
“I told them I’d been hyping up the defense. And so, it’s time for the defense to finally step up, even when we’re scoring goals,” Zuniga said.
The Tigers got contributions from several younger players in turning in the shutout. Republic scored on two penalty kicks: one by Brayden Tharp in the first half and one by Kleber Perez in the second half.
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Republic’s junior varsity team continued its outstanding season with a 7-1 win. Republic is 12-4-2, and Tuesday’s win set a program record at the junior varsity level. The JV Tigers have lost only once since the beginning of September.