Boys soccer continues undefeated streak into CIF

On Friday, Feb. 16, fans gathered on the field to watch Samo boys soccer play their first CIF game against Santa Ynez after a successful league season. The team battled hard and won 3-1, which advanced them to the next round.Going into the game, Samo was undefeated in their league, but they knew this game was going be different. Santa Ynez was third in an extremely competitive league and were going to put up a fight. Goalkeeper Nate Comay (’19) understood the importance of the match, and explained the team’s thoughts before the start.“We treated it just like a normal game and hoped to just play to the best of our ability. We wanted to keep three main components in mind: first, defend our home, second, stick to what has made us successful and third, focus on the next play,” Comay said.As it was a very high stakes game, both teams came out with extreme energy. Samo was looking strong, but Santa Ynez was putting more pressure on Samo than they were used to. Santa Ynez had a close opportunity ten minutes in, and this chance made Samo realize that they were going to have to play even smarter if they wanted to continue their season.Samo pressured and got a corner kick, but it was a bit too close to the goal and was caught by the goalie. They kept up the intensity, and 15 minutes in they got another corner kick. This time, it was headed and blocked, but the team stayed aggressive and midfielder Owen Koetters (’18) kicked it in while it was still in the box. This goal gave Samo a 1-0 lead.Once the team was winning, Samo seemed to gain more confidence and raised the intensity even further. With 15 minutes to go, midfielder Ryan Lane (’19) made a beautiful run down the line and lobbed the ball. The ball just grazed over the player’s head, but the opportunity gave the team momentum.Soon after, forward Sean Flood (’19) made a move one-on-one down the left wing. He drilled across, and the ball got bumped a few yards away from the goal line. Lane ran onto it and blasted it into the upper left side of the net. It was an impossible ball to save, and stretched Samo’s lead to 2-0.Samo was beginning to dominate the game and for the last part of the first half the ball rarely got into Samo territory. However, with five minutes to go, Santa Ynez had one drive down the line and got a corner kick. It seemed like a miscommunication and an open player headed it into the goal, making the lead only 2-1.For the remainder of the half, the game became a bit more physical, as Samo wanted to redeem themselves from the goal they let in and Santa Ynez wanted to score and end the half tied. However, no team capitalized and the half concluded 2-1.After a well-earned break, Samo returned ready to secure their victory. Right away, forward Nathaniel DeRose (’19) lobbed a ball near the upper right corner, but it was just wide. Samo was looking strong; they controlled the middle and won almost every ball out of the air. However, Santa Ynez was holding their ground and continued to pressure.With 25 minutes to go, Samo’s starting forward Sean Flood (’19) had a hard fall and had to leave the field. Down a critical player, Samo knew they had to fight even harder to keep their lead. Thus far, they had created a good amount of chances but had not put any away.Luckily, Samo’s energy paid off. With five minutes left, the ball got muddled in the box, and striker Jaylen Erhahon (’18) threw himself into the body of players and was able to kick it in. This goal made the score 3-1, and almost guaranteed the team’s ticket to the next round.Now, with a comfortable lead and time running out, Samo could taste the victory. However, they stayed composed and made sure that Santa Ynez had no shot at a comeback. After 80 minutes of passionate playing, Samo ended with a well-deserved 3-1 win.Goalkeeper Max Nemoy (’20) commented on the unmatched grit that the team played with throughout the game.“We played hard and fought harder than them the whole game, even though we made a few defensive mistakes,” Nemoy said.As the lone Samo team to make it past the first round, varsity boys soccer will represent their school at home in round two of CIF on Wednesday, Feb. 21.