The Eagles took another major step toward capturing the NCL1 boys soccer crown on Oct. 12, turning back second place St. Helena in a hotly contested home match, 2-0.
The hard-fought victory paves the way for Cloverdale to hang its first league championship pennant in years.
“It was a very exciting game to watch, as it was back and forth for both teams for most of the game,” CHS soccer coach Carlos Jimenez reported. “Our young players that normally don’t play as much were used heavily because we had several players out with injuries or relieving tired players on the field. All of the young players played great and the coaches were very happy with their contribution to a very physical and demanding game.”
Cloverdale (13-1-1, 11-0) can secure the title outright this Thursday, Oct. 21 when it hosts Clear Lake on Senior Day in a 4 p.m. start at John Allen Memorial Field. The game will be co-ed and the Eagles will pay tribute to their graduating seniors in a ceremony immediately following the match.
Eagles win thriller
Nothing was easy about the Oct. 12 clash with visiting St. Helena, with the teams playing on nearly even teams throughout the match. Cloverdale overcame some bad luck in the opening period when two would-be goals were nullified due to off-sides penalties.
The Eagles finally broke through in the 30th minute of the first half when veteran captain David Gonzalez found the net on an assist from David Alvarez for a 1-0 lead at the half.
The score remained unchanged until three minutes were left in the game when Juan Carlos Anguiano took a pass from Eduardo Garcia and drove in past the Saint’s keeper for the insurance goal. The Cloverdale defense dug in for the final minutes to preserve a 2-0 victory.
“Our goal keeper, Andres Alfaro, had a great game saving two potential scoring opportunities for St. Helena,” Jimenez noted.
