Royals show strength against Vaca
Varsity: 2-4 (5-3-0); JV: 2-0 (6-1-1) – both 2nd in League
The JV soccer team was on fire, but success for Varsity was elusive.
Varsity: Thursday, February 2, was Senior Night for Boys’ Soccer and, while it may have been a disappointing loss, it was overall a great night. The Armijo stands were packed for the 13 seniors with friends, family and classmates.
The night started with only 10 of the 13 seniors due to injuries, but these ten put on a strong show to start their last home game. Unfortunately, the Vacaville Bulldogs saw a weakness and were able to score two goals in the first ten minutes by playing to their strengths. The Royals scrambled to make adjustments to offset their fast and strong attack, but Vacaville was ultimately able to score two more goals in the first half, leaving the game at 0-4.
With some frustrating injuries and subs, the Royals scrambled to reset themselves during half and find momentum. Armijo made some key adjustments and talked through where Vacaville was getting through to attack and it worked. The Royals saw a completely different half where the players were giving it their all and Armijo saw several players in different spots on the field to take over those coming off with injury.
In the first five, the Royals saw a great play to senior Captain Diego Torres who snuck through the defense to score their first goal of the night. Armijo continued to see players coming off and on the field with minor injuries and brushing it off to go back on when someone else had to come off for a few minutes.
Armijo saw their second goal of the night by a rebound from a shot by Santiago Alvares that was finished into the net by senior Esteban Carcamo.
In the end, the Royals did not win but a loss by two points against the top team in the league for the last three years while missing three starters was not bad at all. Coach Flores is am so proud of her seniors and so many of the underclassmen who stepped up to the plate to support and help each other to keep the battle going and shut down the Vacaville attack in the second half.
The Royals take on Vanden next on their turf, Tuesday February 7.
Junior Varsity (JV): The boys were going against 1st place Vacaville who were going into this game 6-0-0 in league. The boys knew they had to win to have a chance at winning league.
Right away Armijo carried the momentum and created chances. After a rebound from a corner kick, Ricardo Brambila received a ball in the air and smashed a volley into the net to put Armijo up 1-0. There was more back and forth with Vacaville creating chances of their own but great defensive plays by Anthony Soto and Mauricio Galindo shut them down.
As the half continued, Ameer Ghanem received the ball outside the 18-yard box and shot into the upper V to put Armijo up 2-0.
In the second half, each team fought for possession in the middle of the field. Benjamin Tooley was playing his second game ever in goal and was able to keep a clean sheet. Coach Alonso is super proud of how the team came to play and play so well offensively/defensively against the 1st place team.
