Scoring four goals in a row, including a penalty kick and a free kick, the coed soccer team held their lead throughout the entire game against the Western Sierra Wolves, 4-2, on Sept. 28.
During the first half of the game, both teams constantly fought over possession of the ball. Neither team was able to score for the first 20 minutes.
Then, a foul on senior Jack Christian in the penalty box granted the Cavs a penalty kick.
The kick, made by freshman Arjin Claire, scored the first goal of the game, bringing the Cavs to a 1-0 lead.
After the first goal, the Wolves got two shots on goal within five minutes. However, both were saved by senior goalie Nate Jakobs.
With 10 minutes until halftime, another foul by the Wolves gave the Cavs a free kick from the mid-line.
The crowd went wild as the kick by Jakobs shot directly into the Wolves’ goal, scoring a second goal for the Cavs.
Excitement over the goal spread through the team too: Sophomore Hayden Boersma bowed before Jakobs, while freshman Ethan Monasa kneeled down and even “brushed off” Jakobs’s shoe.
The team then played more defensively, successfully securing their 2-0 lead at halftime.
At the start of the second half, the Cavs rushed forward, closing the gap between the ball and the opponent’s goal. A kick made by Claire scored a third goal for the Cavs.
But then, 20 minutes into the second half, the Wolves drove the ball towards the Cavs’ goal. The new goalie, junior Aaron Graves, slid towards to ball in an attempt to grab it but made a mistake in his timing; the Wolf offender gained control of the ball before Graves was able to take it.
As Graves struggled to recover, the Wolf took a shot at the goal. The crowd tensed up – it seemed inevitable that the Wolves would score.
However, as the ball flew towards the goal, freshman Miles Morrow stepped in front of the goal and blocked it, saving the goal for the Cavs.
The crowd was flooded with relief as they whooped and cheered for Morrow.
Later, as the Cavs took possession of the ball, Jakobs, now an offender, rushed toward the goal. He dodged the goalie’s attempt at taking the ball, causing the goalie to fall. As the Wolves started to surround him, he took a shot. The ball zoomed past the players but missed the goal by a hair.
Halfway through the second half, a header by senior Abby LaComb off a corner kick scored a goal for the Cavs, bringing the score to 4-0.
10 minutes later, a Western Sierra player scored a goal with a kick from the far side of the field, earning the first goal for the Wolves.
Later, because the Cavs didn’t clear out the ball quickly enough, the Wolves scored another goal, bringing the score to 4-2.
“We started to fall apart a little in the second half,” co-coach George Champayne said. “We had a lot of substitutions, and we were not used to the new positions.”
With less than a minute left, Claire made a run for the goal. He drove the ball forward, shaking two Wolves, and took a shot at the goal. However, he missed, and the final score was secured at 4-2.
Junior Spencer Scott said the team has improved a lot since the previous game.
“Our defense – and our team in general – communicated a lot better this game,” Scott said. “A problem we’ve had was that we weren’t passing the ball to feet, (but) we’ve improved a lot on that as well. We haven’t eliminated the problem yet, but we’ve gotten a lot better.”
Coach Champayne agreed with Scott.
“We are on a roll since our game with Cristo Rey (on Sept. 25),” Champayne said. “I’m confident that we can beat the other teams and win the season.”
The Cavs’ next game is on Wednesday, Oct. 10, against Western Sierra at 3 p.m. at Western Sierra.
—By Ming Zhu
