On Dec. 18, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) boys soccer team faced off against Oaks Christian School (Oaks) for their ninth and final preseason match of the 2025 winter season. Unfortunately for the Dragons, they suffered their eighth loss of the season as it was a rout for Oaks, 7-1. 

Oaks got on the board and scored two goals early in the third and 13th minutes to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Despite Oaks’ solid ball circulation, the Dragons stretched their defensive shape and maintained composure early to prevent the game from getting away from them. 

Anders Bayless ’28 sets himself up for a kick, hoping to pass the ball to one of his teammates positioned closer to the opposing team’s goal. Despite Foothill Tech’s unfortunate loss, Bayless stood out for his strong ball-handling skills. (Diana Hixon)

Foothill Tech’s goalkeeper, Jordan Lacson ‘28, played an essential role defensively, securing several impressive saves during the first half that were key in the attempt to shift the Dragons’ momentum. 

Asher Bayless ‘26 was the holder of the only Foothill Tech goal this game as he was able to make a run into the box and draw a penalty. Bayless put the penalty away on a low driven shot into the bottom corner of the goal to temporarily cut the lead to 2-1.

When asked after the game about the team’s performance, Bayless said, “I think we had one shot on goal and that was when I had a penalty kick. We had no real stability on defense; we kept getting lost in the midfield every time the ball went there…It was poor on all thirds of the pitch today.”

Followed shortly after the penalty kick, the Oaks Lions responded with two near back-to-back goals, barreling through the Dragons’ best defensive efforts in the midst of the 20th minute of the half. These plays were crucial in asserting Oaks’ early lead over Foothill Tech, which sat comfortably at 4-1 until the conclusion of the half.

“Basically, we have hardly any momentum right now, but this is good because it teaches us how to lose. Because you have to know how to lose. If you only know how to win, you’re not going to get anywhere in life, because when you lose, you’re not going to know what to do,” said center back Dylan Files ’26

An Oaks Christian player kicks the ball past Foothill Tech’s defense, though the goalie ultimately saved it. The Dragons, despite their effort, were bested by their opposing team, scoring only one goal in the first half with a penalty kick from Asher Bayless ‘26. (Diana Hixon)

More of the same quality performance from the Lions continued throughout the second half as the Lions were able to extend their lead to 7-1 by way of outside-the-box shots and quick runs.

Gavin Leedy ’26, when talking about the atmosphere of the match and the overall team performance, said, “The atmosphere wasn’t intense enough. We need to work on not hanging our heads when we start losing and keep playing till the end, like it’s the start of the game. I would say our performance correlates with the atmosphere. We did not perform what we believed should be our standard.”

With winter break within the sights of the Dragons, they look to refuel and come back stronger.

“We definitely mainly gotta focus on our fitness, the quality of our plays definitely drops throughout the course of a game. It’s just work, work, work over the break to get fitness up and get ready for league,” said Bayless.

When they return, Foothill Tech looks to get into the win column against West Coast Union on Jan. 5 for their first official league match.