Boys soccer breaks Culver’s undefeated record

On Feb. 7, an aggressive rivalry match ended with Samo’s boys soccer winning against Culver City High School, 3-2. After losing an intense match to Culver the day before, Samo did not cave in as the pressure of winning increased with every scored goal."This [game] was pretty overwhelming," coach Joseph Doyle said. "They defended really well, and they progressed all over the park. I don't think it needed to go overtime; I think we have a good few changes in the game. But, they kept fighting, and I couldn't ask for more right now.” In the first quarter, Culver had total control over the ball and did not let Samo’s offense a chance to possess the ball. Although Culver started stronger than Samo, the team did not let the ball into their net and soon after, Samo’s Luis Tamayo (’17) scored the first goal of the game.“We worked hard, especially in the second half and overtime, [but] we could have been smarter defensively,” Pablo Cosio (’18) said. As the game continued, rain started to pour, but it didn't stop the two teams from battling it out on the slippery turf. By the second half, the teams were in a full out war with each other as Owen Koetters (’18) and Joaquin Montero (’19) got injured. With a minor injury, Koetters continued to play the whole game, and in one instance he ran after a Culver player and pulled his shirt back without a foul call."This was a big game," Doyle said. "We lost to these guys yesterday and right now we are playing to get into the playoff. This was the battle that we wanted and everyone played very well today. This was a team effort and we more than deserved the win today."But it wasn't just Koetters who fought back. Multiple Samo and Culver players started to push and pull at each other and a in doing so, a fight almost broke out. However, no fights ensued and after ending the second half 2-2, the teams went into overtime and the ball volleyed back and forth. While on Culver’s half, Samo found their chance and Jonathan Villegas (’18) scored the winning goal. "I think because we played them last night, all the wounds are fresh," Doyle said. "I think that's why you see it. Since they've gotten better, and we've kind of floated around, I think it was a match between two teams that really wanted to win." The teammates roared to life as the ball hit the back of the net and finished the long game. After two hours of rain, Samo came out victorious.“The win meant a lot for us,” Cosio said. “It was senior night and we wanted to get this win for our seniors. We also stained their previously undefeated record.”