Armijo meets Vanden’s challenges

Varsity: On Friday, January 7, Armijo’s Varsity came out strong with quick movements and strong play. The Royals kept the attack strong and were able to get a goal in the first five minutes by Junior Esteban Carcamo.

The Vanden Vikings started to press harder and Armijo was able to get some good plays in, holding them off with some great defensive work by Sophomore Andres orozco and Senior Antonio Peña.

About 13 minutes into the game, Junior Abraham Perez was able to break through the Viking defense and sink a shot for Armijo’s second goal. With play picking up a bit, Vanden fouled the Royals near their box and Senior Andy Rodríguez was able to sink the kick.

Unfortunately, at 3-0, the Royals got a little to complacent and Vanden took advantage of the slip in pressure to get a goal in of their own in the last two minutes. Armijo was ahead as they ended half at 3-1 and a few injuries to doctor up. The Royals had a solid chat about keeping pressure up and the level of play. Vanden definitely came into the second half with a drive to even out the playing field but Armijo was able to hold them off, just barely.

Senior Keeper Jonathan Harrington was able to hold down the goal for second half and shut down all Vanden’s attempts. The Royals struggled to find the same drive they had at the start and were held off by Vanden. The boys started off amazing but Armijo just got a little too complacent and then, with an increase in fouling and iffy or missed calls, Armijo just couldn’t find that same momentum.

The boys are bringing a strong level of  competition to the field this year and Coach Flores looks forward to see how they continue to show off all their hard work from pre-season.

Junior Varsity (JV): Armijo’s boys started out with no subs and the game started off at a fast pace. Vanden was able to score first after a successful dribble and well placed shot from outside the box. Armijo didn’t put their heads down and kept pushing right after they were scored on.

Freshman Jovani Jimenez took on two defenders successfully and scored in the 1v1 vs the goalie to make it 1-1. In the second half, a mistake from a corner kick caused Vanden to score an easy goal to make it 2-1 after someone was left unmarked. Five minutes later, sophomore Edwin Pacheco made it 2-2 as he scored from a short corner kick play that had been practiced before in trainings.

The boys were able to hold on hard with great defense from Jackson Harrington and Jeremiah Tam. Hopefully they will have a full squad soon to take on Will C Wood Wednesday, January 12. The Royals will take on Will C Wood on Wednesday at Armijo and then Vacaville on Friday, January 14 at home again. Both games have a 5pm  / 7 pm kick off.