With twelve minutes left in the first half, Inglewood Sentinels sophomore Kevin Weldekidan scored a goal against the Hawthorne Cougars during Friday’s game.

After some fairly even back-and-forth between squads, Weldekidan ended up on the Cougar’s side of the field with the ball. With nobody able or even seemingly trying to stop him, he quickly kicked the ball into the net. The team was ecstatic and was generous to him with their high fives. However, it all changed within the last twenty-five minutes of the game.

The frustrated Hawthorne squad must’ve felt equally motivated because they began to play more aggressively in the second half. While the Sentinels did their best to defend throughout the rest of the game, they could not stop the Cougars from scoring against them. To their disbelief, they lost with a score of 4-1. 

Even I was surprised as I sat on the nearly empty bleachers during a very chilly night. After the Sentinels made their first and only goal, the Cougars were having difficulty scoring due to the Sentinel’s tight defensive unit. To be honest, I didn’t give Hawthorne much of a chance to score. However, with luck and determination on their side, the Cougars were able to get past the previously stingy defense and score that quartet of goals. Before I knew it, the referees were blowing their final whistle.

Three of their goals were made traditionally by foot. However, giving credit where credit is due — the Cougars second goal is what I will even remember them by. Sophomore, Sebastine Lara successfully made a header from another player’s corner kick. The Cougars themselves even looked astonished when the ball went into the net. After making the rest of the goals, they were the team feeling amped. 

Even though they suffered the loss, head coach Gabriel Guevara praised Weldekidan for scoring the Sentinel’s only goal of the night. “He’s the only one who has scored throughout our last two games,” he said. 

Coach Guevara isn’t new to the Sentinels. After graduating from Inglewood High School in 2011, he returned as the head coach and has been coaching for the last two years. 

“We don’t go into the game thinking we’re going to win,” coach Guevara said. “We just go in and try our hardest.” 

Not only did Weldekidan score during Friday night’s game, but he also scored both goals when the Sentinels beat the Centennial Apaches on January 5th by a score of 2-1. 

“I feel pretty good, and happy,” Weldekidan said. “I’m proud of myself.”

Coach Guevara describes their loss as “unlucky,” and knows the team will take the loss to think about their upcoming game against Beverly Hills on Friday, January 19. In the meantime, Coach Guevara says he is excited to work more tactically with the team and teach them how to have more chemistry on the field with one another. He hopes this will prepare them for all future games. 

“They have time,” he said. “It’s just the beginning of the season.”

Coach Guevara is looking forward to playing against Hawthorne again on Monday, January 29. Due to some construction at Hawthorne High School, Friday’s match was switched to a neutral site, nearby Leuzinger High School’s field. Hawthorne was still named the home team.

Photo by the author. Pictured: Coach Gabriel Guevara and Kevin Weldekidan