ATHERTON, CA

Four games into the 2023 men's soccer schedule, this year's Oaks are yet to concede a goal. Today's match confirmed that the theme of the season so far is defense, but the top end of the formation made important contributions throughout the game's 90 minutes. With the win, Menlo's overall record is 2-0-2.

Launching Pad

In all four of Menlo's regular-season matches, the fundamental principle has been defensive impenetrability. Today, the Oaks were able to build upon that principle thanks to a goal scored by midfielder Axel Valle less than a minute into the game. Menlo earned a corner kick almost at the outset, which Antonio Jimenez delivered into the eighteen-yard box with pace. After the ball bounced around in the forest of legs at the edge of the six-yard box for a few seconds, Valle saw his opportunity near the penalty spot and whipped it into the left side of the goal. It was a moment of pure goalscoring instinct, and drew a chorus of cheers from the bench.

Besides the clear offensive advantage of scoring a goal early, perhaps more notable was what it led to from a defensive perspective. For the rest of the game, the Oaks were able to be patient with the ball, maintaining guarded possession for as long as they felt it took for the ideal channels to open up within the Corban formation. As renowned Dutch player-turned-coach Johan Cruyff once said, "There is only one ball, so you need to have it." Today, once the Oaks had both the opening goal and the ball, the focus was clear: minimize Corban's windows of opportunity, and maximize the Warriors' time spent chasing the game.

Thanks to the personnel on the field, in particular center-backs Ian Brusewitz and Luis Politron and central midfielder Dennis Vanin, Menlo executed that strategy to great effect. Those three players, like cooling rods in a nuclear power station, inserted themselves into plays to calm things down and reorganize possession countless times throughout the match. That, coupled with incisive contributions from Menlo's fullbacks, meant that the Oaks managed the match's tempo for long periods without significant interruptions from their opponents.

Doubling the Advantage

Barely over a minute into the second half, with Menlo still holding its 1-0 advantage, the Oaks earned a free kick a few yards away and off-center from the eighteen-yard box. Levin Ledergerber, the senior midfielder from Wattwil, Switzerland, stepped up to take it. As soon as the ball left his foot, it appeared destined for the near-post corner, and that is right where it ended up. The Corban goalkeeper did his best to leap into a spectacular save, but the ball was well out of his reach by the time he was off the ground. 

If the early goal in the first half hadn't solidified Menlo's grip on the game, the second tally of the day certainly did. From that point onward, the Oaks were largely in control, with little in the way of a Corban response. Goalkeeper Jo Krumsvik was called into action for a pair of saves, his first of the season, in the final minutes of the match. The Norwegian junior, however, was more than up to the task.

Up Next

The Oaks will play one match next week, with kickoff at Wunderlich Field against the visiting Raiders of Southern Oregon University scheduled for 2:00 PM on Saturday, September 9th.