(Graphic by Jackson Crawford)
Despite good defense, the host Country Day soccer team lost its regular-season finale 2-0 to Cristo Rey, the two-time defending champion of the Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League, on Oct. 23.
Near the end of the first half, Cristo Rey scored due to the Cavs’ inability to clear the ball, according to sophomore defender Arijit Trivedi. With only two minutes left in the game, the Saints scored again.
“We were defending well for the entire game,” Trivedi said. “We wanted to try to get a 1-0 score at the worst, so the second half was very tense. Sadly, we didn’t achieve that goal, but we tried our hardest.”
Senior midfielder Maddie Woo said the match was difficult “because we altered our formation and ‘parked the bus’ (played defensively) to accommodate for such a good team as Cristo Rey.”
Co-coach George Champayne said the Cavs played well and showed they are ready for the playoffs.
“We solidified our defense how we planned last game, and it worked,” he said. “We had a chance to tie it at one point when we hit the post. Our team faced up against (Cristo Rey) during the game and challenged them well. We performed well enough that we are probably going to scare some teams who are in the playoffs that we held Cristo Rey (to) 2-0.”
The seventh-seeded Cavs will play second-seeded Victory Christian in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII Championships on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 4 p.m. at the Cherry Island Soccer Complex (2429 U St., Elverta).
—By Dylan Margolis
