The Raiders began their play off season last Friday after beating St Brendan 3-0 on the home field.
The journey to the state championship started with the district semi final where the Raiders won by scoring three goals in overtime. This was the first game after the team had their first tie of the season in their last regular season game. They worked as a team to take back their winning streak and advance to the district finals.
“Overall we started poorly by not being able to score and having some mistakes defensively that could’ve been disastrous. But we were able to fortify ourselves in the second half and in overtime by improving our level and beating the other team,” senior and center back David Rincon said.
The three goals in the game were scored in overtime. Senior and striker Bruce Alvarex scored two of the goals. The first goal was scored with an assist by senior Cosme Salas. Alvarez scored the second goal after junior Tomas Bellatin shot and got blocked by the goaling. Alvarez got the ball, shot, and scored.
“All game we kept trying to put a goal in, but it just wasn’t working. We kept working as a team in overtime to secure the win,” Alvarez said.
The third goal was scored by senior and wingback Daniel Ortiz. Salas provided another assist, this time to Ortiz, who was able to kick the ball in after the goalie fumbled it.
“Our first district game was a challenge for sure. A team like St Brendan went in with the goal of tiring us out and getting a lucky goal while defending the whole game,” Ortiz said. “We could’ve done better going forward early in the game but I’m glad we were patient and the goals came.”
The team will face Mast Academy tomorrow in the district finals at the homefield at 3:30. The team has been preparing for the game and hope to secure their spot in regionals.
“We are practicing every day with the mentality that we have an important game coming. We have to be physically and mentally prepared. We are taking practice seriously, fixing our mistakes, and bettering the rest,” senior and midfielder Lucas Barros said.
