Vikings’ undefeated record earns home field advantage for CIF

Danny KarelStaff WriterSamo’s boys’ varsity soccer team finished the regular season just as they set out to: with zero losses in league. With just one tie out of 10 matches, the team finished the tournament ranked first, with nine wins and a great deal of momentum going into CIF.Their last Ocean League game was against Hawthorne, one of their main competitors throughout the season. Ranked second, Hawthorne was expected to put up a struggle, but Samo shut them down completely, winning 3-0. Senior Ian Spetner scored the first goal of the game only 15 minutes in; junior Kevin Eyler soon followed suit, sinking one more to put the Vikings ahead 2-0. With 15 minutes remaining and two unanswered goals on the board, Spetner scored yet again, sealing the win and the Vikings’ rank of first in the Ocean League. This win also sets the boys up for a comfortable start to CIF, pitting them against the weakest team in the first round.“I’m very satisfied with how we did in league,” senior Nick Herrera said. “Now we are in first going into CIF. With that in mind, we know that if we play to our potential, we shouldn’t have a problem winning.”The Vikings’ first CIF game is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 18, which marks the beginning of the most important leg of this soccer season.For many of them this is their last season playing Samo soccer, and they want, more than anything, to go out with a bang.“We are seated in first and we are getting home games,” Spetner said. “What we really need now is support at the games from Samo.”dkarel@thesamohi.com