Varsity: Armijo Boys came out strong against American Canyon on Wednesday, November 30, with a goal in the first minute by senior Abraham Perez Ascencio. American Canyon stepped it up from there and really challenged our centers and defense. They got several shots off but were not able to get one by junior goalkeeper and captain Jackson Harrington. The Royals ended the first half with 1-0 on the scoreboard and several things to talk about to improve upon. 

After a good conversation from the coaching staff and captains, the boys rallied together and  saw a whole new game. Perez dominated on field and managed to sink three more goals in the second half by dribbling through American Canyon players and playing some quick 1-2 plays off senior Captain Diego Torres, senior Esteban Carcamo and junior Dawson Le. Torres was able to also sink a perfect free kick just outside the box at the halfway point.

Unfortunately, with a mistake in the Royals’ defensive line, American Canyon was able to slip a ball by Armijo’s keeper to end the game at 5-1, missing a shutout in the last four minutes of the game.

Overall it was a really solid game, with some impressive plays by the Royals offense and great work by the keeper. Armijo is set to go to the Pitman Pride tournament this Friday and Saturday, December 2 and 3,  in Turlock if the weather permits. It should be some solid play and a good test of different players’ skill sets as we tryout some new positions and formations.

Junior Varsity (JV): Armijo’s JV boys played their first game of the pre-season and were looking to start strong. Within the first five minutes, freshman Isaac Aguirre scored from a great pass by sophomore Mauricio Galindo. The passes kept coming to the forwards and Aguirre scored his second goal of the night with 16 minutes remaining in the first half.

In the last three minutes of the half, American Canyon was able to get one in after a couple deflections and a great shot to make it 2-1 into the half. Over the half it was discussed how to find more spaces and stop any future American Canyon attacks.

The second half was domination as Aguirre scored his third goal from a cross by freshman Adrian Amador. Seven minutes later Armijo got another one in as Aguirre took another shot that was kicked in by an American Canyon defender to make it an own goal and 4-1. It was a great overall game and the boys are looking to continue the momentum into the upcoming tournament