By Tracy Lam and Karen Phan, Staff Writers
This afternoon in the first round of California Interscholastic Federation. (CIF) playoffs, the boys’ varsity soccer team faced off against the highly regarded Santiago High School Cavaliers and won with a score of 3-1.
The first half opened up with the Cavaliers’ immediate control of the ball. They pressured the Baron defense, but were unable to score any goals. Sophomore Malachi Wright eventually broke away with possession of the ball and made an unsuccessful attempt to score. Following Wright’s attack were two near-goal attempts by the Cavaliers in the 15th minute.
Santiago continued their offensive pressure, but lost the ball to Fountain Valley. The Barons penetrated the Cavalier defense, and Wright drove the ball into the goal in the 19th minute.
After Wright’s goal, both teams played with more intensity, though Santiago kept possession of the ball more frequently. Fountain Valley was able to regain control of the ball and received a corner kick. Sophomore Sebastian Rus controlled a drop pass from senior Andre Nguyen and scored the Barons’ second goal of the game in the 29th minute.
The remainder of the half continued with constant back-and-forth action between Fountain Valley and Santiago and ended with the Barons leading 2-0 going into halftime.
Fountain Valley started the second half off strong with possession of the ball and continuous attacks against Santiago. Only seven minutes into the half, Wright scored the Barons’ third goal off of an assist from Rus.
“We worked very hard for the whole game, and we were also clinical, taking our chances when given to us,” said junior Tyler Le.
As the game progressed, both teams were at a stalemate until Santiago repossessed the ball and surged up the field. The Cavaliers scored a goal after the Baron defense cleared the ball into an opposing attacker, bringing the score to 3-1.
Despite the Cavaliers’ goal, the Barons kept up their intensity. In the final minutes of the game, Santiago pushed for one final play, but could not overcome Fountain Valley’s defense.
“The game went very well, we were able to grind it out and played hard, getting the victory in the end,” said Le. “Overall, it was a nice win, and we are all very excited that we are still able to participate in CIF.”
The Barons will advance to round two of CIF. Their next game is against Martin Luther King High School this Saturday at home.
