By: Jack Harris | Writer
February 19, 2020
Boys soccer traveled to University High School on Friday, February 14 to play in the second round of the CIF playoffs. The game came to a very unexpected end, with San Clemente ultimately losing seven to six in penalty kicks after a scoreless game.
80 minutes of regulation time were played, followed by two over time periods that lasted ten minutes each. At the end of a gruesome 100 minutes, the game was to be decided by penalty kicks, a method that fails to measure which team is better, but which team can hit a better shot while sprinkling a little bit of luck on the ball.
San Clemente had a lot to live up to this year, after finishing their 2018-19 season with the perfect trifecta: winning league, a CIF championship, and a state championship. Having a season like that twice in a row would be considered an impossible feat by most coaches. The team had hoped that they could accomplish this impressive task; however, the disappointing loss stopped them from completing the impossible.
Boys soccer faced off against Katella High School on February 12 for their first round of CIF, defeating them 3-0 with the help from Giovanni Gomez, Asa Gibson, and Nolan Grush all scoring one goal.
“We felt ready for the challenge coming up against a strong University team, we knew we needed to have a big game both offensively and defensively,” San Clemente High School senior captain Trevor Bay said.
Despite losing in the second round of CIF, the boys team still encountered an enormous amount of success during their season. They were the first team from San Clemente to win the Lotto Showcase, one of the top high school soccer tournaments in the country. The team only allowed seven goals to be scored against them in their 26 games, proving themselves as an impressive defensive unit. The team also secured the number one seed for the Southern Section of CIF, meaning based on their record they were the best performing team in the southern section heading into playoffs.
“I am very proud of the team’s effort,” SCHS senior captain Daniel Tuscano said. “Throughout the season we grew closer and performed better and better.”
The boys had an amazing season, and it is very unfortunate that it had to come to an unexpected end. It’s now time for the team to regroup, rebuild, and take California by storm next year.
Way to make me relive that Jack 🙁 Still a great season though!