December, 2022
By Kevin Benitez, Staff Reporter
This week KAC was exposed to both thrill and sorrow as the U.S. Men’s soccer team successfully qualified for the Round of 16 in the World Cup after defeating Iran 1-0 while Mexico narrowly failed to advance despite beating Saudi Arabia when they failed to close the goal difference between Poland and them.
KAC knew how much the World Cup means to the KAC community so administrators decided to project the games in the gym during lunch. Word quickly spread and a large community gathered to support both the U.S and Mexico. Tuesday the U.S played against Iran and with a goal from Christian Pulisic they were able to secure the win by maintaining that goal difference. The KAC community was very pleased at this and the crowd erupted when Pulisic scored.
Wednesday, Mexico faced off against Saudi Arabia and this was a must win for Mexico and not only that, they had to score multiple goals. Mexico took the lead in the 47th minute from a corner kick in which Henry Martin was able to score their first goal. The KAC community was excited at this and all the while were showing support to their national team even having a Mexican flag being carried by students. The second goal came at minute 52 when Luis Chaves scored what some argue was the best goal of the World Cup, a free kick from a long distance. Everyone was ecstatic, however, this did not last as multiple Mexico goals were disallowed due to offsides. Because Mexico was attacking as much as they could trying to secure the 3rd goal, they weren’t prepared for the counter attack. In the 95th minute Salem Al-Dawsari secured a goal for Saudi Arabia, which had officially disqualified Mexico from the World Cup.
The KAC community largely supports the Mexico national team so this was a tough pill to swallow and Wednesday was a sorrowful day for many in the community. All they can do now is wait four years and hope for better results.
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