After coming off a chippy, hard-fought win against their rivals, the Sacramento Waldorf Waves, the Cavs had to lace up for their first league game against the Cristo Rey Saints on Jan. 5.
The Saints are known for being a soccer powerhouse. But last year the Cavs defeated the Saints, 2-1, in their second matchup of the season.
However, the Cavs were a different team back then. They have since lost starters B.J. Askew and Jayce McCain, a crucial part of the Cavs’ system.
Going into the game, the Cavs were at a major disadvantage. Sophomore Benett Sackheim was away on vacation, meaning senior Aidan Cunningham and sophomore Nate Jakobs had to trade off playing sweeper. This limited the Cavs’ ability to possess the ball in the midfield.
In addition, senior Adam Dean said, the Cavs were depleted from their game against the Waves.
“We were really tired because we didn’t have any practices over break,” Dean said. “We put all of our effort into our game (against the Waves) on Tuesday.”
This led to unusual mistakes from the Cavs.
Senior goalie Zane Jakobs tried to deflect a Saints’ shot on goal, but instead of catching the ball, it deflected off his fists, and the Saints scored off the return shot.
Later in the game, the ball got past Zane and appeared to have rolled into the net. But Nate cleared the ball before it had time to cross.
Although the entire ball did not enter the net, the referee still awarded the goal to the Saints. The referee who made the call was 20 yards out, and many Cavs players disagreed with his decision.
The Cavs also suffered from injuries. Junior Theo Kaufman suffered a groin injury, and senior Christian Van Vleck hurt his ankle. It is unknown when the two will be back in full form.
Between injuries, fatigue and unlucky calls, the Cavs ended up falling to the Saints, 0-4.
The boys’ next game will be against the Buckingham Charter Knights on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 3 p.m. at home.
—By Jake Longoria
