The Aliso Niguel boys soccer team has gone through almost all of their games with only 4 remaining now. These games are very important due to the fact that they are league games now. Due to them being a part of the South Coast League they will face off against Mission Viejo, El Toro, San Clemente and finally San Juan Hills.
All of these schools are in an intense place in their rankings because one loss can eliminate either team from CIF contention. The boys’ record ranks them 35th in Southern California out of 471 teams.
They have recorded wins against Mission Viejo, a league opponent, Foothill, Portola, Laguna Beach and Dana Hills, all pre-season opponents. They have all won these games comfortably. They have also tied three games against Capistrano Valley, a pre-season game, and league opponents El Toro and San Juan Hills. Finally, their losses this season concluded against Santa Margarita Catholic, El Dorado and San Clemente.
All of these games have still motivated the team to do better, especially going into their final stretch of their season, as they are trying to earn that CIF spot. The team is preparing for the final four games of their season which makes everything count in the end because just one loss can ruin their entire season and make them not even have a chance to compete in CIF.
Varsity striker Noe Sanchez (12) comments, “These last games are the most important for me personally just because it can be the end of my senior season and to end off my season I would really want to play in CIF.”
The team, led by Head Coach Daniel Pask and Assistant Coach Alek Cucuk, is taking practicing very seriously because they are preparing for their next games against Mission Viejo and El Toro High School. Practice these next few weeks has to be very intense, because the team wants to compete in CIF and prove that they can compete at the Division I level.
Varsity forward Jesus Aguirre (12) stated, “Last year we only made it to the second round of CIF so this year I want to help the team and make it further than we went last year.”
In the end, the Aliso Niguel soccer team has had a season of ups and downs, but it all comes down to the final games of the season. These make sure that all of their work during the season was worth it for the postseason. Long practices and hard games have all led to the end of the season where it matters the most.
The boys soccer team has been excellent over the years, especially in CIF, so hopefully the team can have another great run this year to end off many great seasons.
