JV Boys Soccer

Jags, Knights fight toe-to-toe, tie

By Lucia Landivar

Cooperative School

       The opening JV boys soccer match between Cooperative and Cambridge started off nothing-to-nothing on a sunny Thursday afternoon with a small breeze and a clear sky, and 90 minutes later it ended with the score still the same.

     The teams went off to a penalty shoot-out to see who would get the extra point in the standings, and the Jaguars prevailed 5-4, with the outcome even of that exercise remaining undecided until the final shot..

     The game was played in the SCCS soccer field with several Cambridge and SCCS fans cheering their teams, who clearly were ready to start off their season, excited and full of strength.

     The first half of the match started off a little slowly, since the players were just warming up in their first big game. But the game gained some intensity when Mauricio Soto who plays varsity and junior varsity for the Knights shot the ball straight to the goal, but SCCS’s goalie Luis Peredo managed to catch the ball.

     The SCCS team gained drive and started to keep the ball in Knight territory. Jaguar Thomas Yeatts  maneuvered his way pass the Knights defense several times in attempts to score a goal, but the Knights had raised their shields, and were not permitting any ball enter their goal.

     Soto continued firing  long distance shots and penalty kicks to the Cooperative goal,  but  Jaguar Ian Pena blocked those kicks with his head. The first half of the game ended with both teams completing some nice passes, but still unable to score a goal.

     Both teams were very nervous and anxious after play resumed.  The SCCS Jaguars were the first to get their claws out against the Knights with Ian Pena shooting a penalty kick, but he missed.

     Knights Matthew Masayoshi and Soto (again) counterattacked, but fortunately for the Jaguars  Peredo made the stop again. Moments later danced his way to an apparent goal for the Knights, only to be called for an off-side penalty by the referee.

     After more equally failed attempts to score from both teams, the referee whistled the end of the game.

      Neither team had trouble scoring in the shootout, which doesn’t change the outcome from being a tie, but awards an extra point in the standings to the team that wins it. The purpose is to avoid ties in the end-of-season standings.
       Both teams made their first four tries before a Cambridge polayer hit the crossbar with his attempt, after which Peredo scored the winner.  


Griffins Defeat Eagles 6-0

By Trevor Reed

Editor-in Chief

Photo by Victoria Maelly.

The International JV boys soccer team scored goal after goal as they beat the JV Eagles in the first game of the season. The game, which was played at the International field, started out very balanced, but the Griffins were able to gain momentum by the second half.

In the first half, the Griffins had the first real scoring opportunity, but the ball was deflected off of the right goal post. A few other good shots were saved by the Eagle goalie.

 Soon after, Eagle forward Hernan Virreira caught a pass near the Griffin goal and blasted a high shot that bounced off the crossbar and almost straight down, but failed to enter the goal. 

After this near-goal, it was the Griffins’ turn again, and they were able to score this time after a forward pass into Eagle territory. One Griffin player was sent off the field with a red card after a particularly bad foul, but the Eagles were still outmatched in size by the Griffin players. The Griffins managed to score another goal before the end of the first half, which ended 2-0.

In the second half, the Griffins put the pressure on even more strongly. Although the Eagles had a few good chances of their own, their morale sank lower with each goal the Griffins scored. Four Griffin goals later, the game ended with the Griffins ahead 6-0. Although the score was very lopsided, the Eagles definitely have a lot of young talent to work with, and they may still be able to make an impact this season.