Aliso played their first of two games for CIF on Feb. 7 against Mira Costa High School. Out of the 560 schools in the CIF Southern Section, Aliso was ranked fifth in the top eight teams to make it to the open division.
Captain Talan Chauncey (12) states, “The atmosphere is different in CIF games because we usually have more fans than we would have at a regular game. Also that we made an open division this year with the top eight teams in Southern California, we now play on an aggregate score over two games.”
Within the first 15 minutes of the game, Aliso led with multiple opportunities to put a number first on the scoreboard. Mira Costa’s goalkeeper was able to keep a wall with every shot that was put his way.
Thirty minutes into the game, Mira Costa put the ball in the net off a free kick. The first half of the game ended in 0-1.
At the start of the second half, the boys fought hard, tackling and being first to every play. Aliso made many close shots on the goal but was not able to score.
At the hour mark there was a close shot that bounced off the post making the crowd rise from their seats.
Aliso kept continually preceding Mira Costa while fighting for a goal. At times, the game got aggressive and players from both sides were receiving yellow cards from the referee.
A few times Mira Costa was able to break through Aliso’s backline leading to a one-on-one with Aliso’s goalkeeper Ethan Sullivan (12). Sullivan made many saves whether it was in the air or on sliding on the turf.
With twelve minutes left of the game, Jason Starks (12) received a red card. Aliso played the last few minutes with an extra nine minutes of injury time with a starter down.
Aliso was unable to put in a goal and ended the game with a 0-1 loss to Mira Costa.
The boys will be going up against Mira Costa once more on Feb. 9 in the second game of the set in this round of CIF.
The boys placed second in the South Coast League. Their overall score was 3-3-2. Three wins, three ties and two losses.
Aliso played Capistrano Valley High School on Jan. 29. The boys took home the win with a final score of 3-1.
Chase Seager states, “I think our best game was home against Capo because not only did we win 3-1, but we also possessed the ball really well, generated a lot of chances and played together well.”
On Jan. 26, the boys played against Mission Viejo High School and ended the game with a 4-1 win. On Jan. 24, Aliso went up against San Juan Hills High School. The game ended with a win for Aliso with a final score of 3-0.
Aliso’s two ties were against Capistrano Valley and San Clemente High School. On Jan. 22, the boys played San Clemente and ended the game with a score of 0-0. The boys went up against Capistrano Valley on Jan. 17 and ended with an even score of 2-2.
