Storylines and standouts – Day 1 of the De La Salle Showcase
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Friday featured three games at the De La Salle Soccer Showcase, with each game featuring highly rated or highly regarded teams from varying parts of the state. The Sacramento Area, the Bay Area and the Los Angeles Area were all…
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Continue ReadingFriday featured three games at the De La Salle Soccer Showcase, with each game featuring highly rated or highly regarded teams from varying parts of the state. The Sacramento Area, the Bay Area and the Los Angeles Area were all represented well, and the middle game proved to be everything you’d hope for between two of the best teams in the state.
Acalanes 3-1 St. Mary’s
The Acalanes Dons won their sixth match in seven tries, performing as the opening act at the De La Salle Soccer Showcase and topping St. Mary’s 3-1.
The Dons came close to scoring three times early on, as Eli Roth hit the post twice himself. However, after being on the front foot from the kickoff, they found themselves down 1-0 after Paxton Lyman converted on a penalty kick in the 13th minute.
Roth got off the mark for Acalanes, scoring just five minutes later to level the game. Then, just four minutes after that Roth played a perfect ball in on the floor to Ben Pecci who slotted home a goal for a 2-1 lead.
The third came on another Roth assist, with Andrew Huchingson finishing nicely in the 33rd minute to give the 3-1 scoreline.
“We talked about it at halftime about how we reacted when the PK happened and that was one of the comments the boys made,” Acalanes coach Paul Curtis said. “Mistakes happen and the question is how do we respond. They complimented themselves for responding well, which is what we want, to be able to take a hit and keep going. I think that resiliency is a reflection of the team and certainly the team’s leadership.”
St. Mary’s came into the game very shorthanded, and despite that played hard and had very good spells. The Panthers were missing several starters, and many key seniors, leaving them with just two subs on the bench. But they never quit.
“They punished us for our series of mistakes, which good teams often do but I think aside from that 10-15 minute flurry where we made some errors, I think we hung with them,” St. Mary’s coach Ankur Chablani said. “We were also without 4-5 senior starters (illness and vacation) so we didn’t have our best squad but our guys worked their tails off and I’m proud of them.”
Of the many great performances in this game, five players really stood out.
Riley Bonner, Acalanes, Senior, Central Midfielder
Bonner was banged up, suffering a hip flexor injury the night before, so he only played when the midfield needed to be settled and rhythm needed to be regained. “He’s very mature, and he applies brain power to how he plays,” Curtis said about him. Bonner is a very intelligent student and player, and it shows when he’s on the pitch.
Paxton Lyman, St. Mary’s, Senior, Central Defender
Lyman is a center back, but due to a short roster, he was needed elsewhere. Lyman, who scored the goal for the Panthers on the penalty kick, played in the midfield and really stood out with his ability to control the ball, dictate the pace when the Panthers were in possession and for his calm and poise.
Miles Rhode, St. Mary’s, Senior, Central Defender
Rhode is a player that plays all over the place, and he is a very capable center back and it showed. However, due to missing players he couldn’t play anywhere else on the pitch as he was needed in defense, and did an outstanding job despite being under a lot of pressure for much of the game.
Eli Roth, Acalanes, Senior, Striker
It’s hard to find anymore superlatives to describe Roth. He is a prodigious goal scorer and is also finding a way to set his teammates up for a goal in most games this season. Even his coach sees him as a metronome.
“I saw more of the same with two assists and a goal,” Curtis said. “I get really excited about the assists because that’s going to become more and more important as the season goes on. Teams will prepare (for him) so he needs to be able to improvise. It’s an important aspect of what he does. He’s such a gift athlete, very strong and very smart. It’s really just fine tuning and giving him some suggestions and ideas and he’s very good at taking that information in and immediately putting it to use.”
Even Roth is happy when he is able to set his teammates up.
“I think it’s good that when we have numbers up and are attacking that I can get other people involved,” Roth said. “I think I can lead the attack well and try to create chances as much as I can.”
Eitan Romick, Sophomore, Center Back
Romick led the Dons back line in this one, as he was strong in the air and when St. Mary’s was in the final third. Acalanes didn’t give up a goal in the run of play, and it is just the third goal they have given up all season and Romick leading the back line is a big reason.
Whitney 1-2 Cathedral
This game featured two of the very best teams in the state of California, pitting the Southern Section powerhouse Cathedral against the Sac-Joaquin Section giant Whitney.
And from Jump Street, this one felt like a heavyweight fight, with both teams exchanging big blows and the battle ebbing and flowing in favor of one team one moment, then the other the next.
After Whitney won the early rounds, Cathedral came on after halftime, took the late rounds and picked up the win, topping the Wildcats 2-1.
“It was a good representation of high school soccer, quite frankly,” Cathedral coach Art Lopez said. “The quality was good and the goals were outstanding. Overall great play from both sides.”
Both teams had chances early with Whitney’s Danny Yoo having a great chance and shooting it just over the crossbar in the 16th minute.
Christopher Garcia Christopher Garcia 5'9" | D Cathedral (CA) | 2023 CA hit the crossbar for Cathedral in the 25th minute after Giovanni Moreno set him up for a shot. However, Garcia would have his redemption, scoring the game-winner in the 73rd minute on a header after a perfect ball in by Angel Guerra Angel Guerra 5'9" | F Cathedral (CA) | 2023 CA on a free kick.
The Phantoms leveled the match on a great goal by Alexander Bastidas Alexander Bastidas F Cathedral | 2023 CA . Moreno stepped in front of a ball just inside the Whitney half, dribbled the ball into the technical area, found Bastidas who switched feet and put a beautiful left-footed shot into the far corner.
“The way they rebounded from that first half was great and I thought the energy level in the second was much better and we were a little bit sharper and a bit more dynamic,” Lopez said. “We had a conversation at halftime about increasing the pressure up top a little bit more. Our front line was a bit more dynamic, and our two guys up top, our senior leaders, and today they responded very well. With the midfielders we found a good rotation to help us control the midfield.
“We showed a lot of maturation today, coming back from down a goal to a really good team like Whitney. It was fun and I am really proud of the boys.”
“We did it to ourselves,” Whitney coach Joel Williams said. “We had two very costly mistakes and we should know better. We had a poor clearance for the first goal and then we fouled in a poor area for the second. It’s just one of those things where we have to do better. We got a little bit off our game and we got a little distracted in the second half.”
Whitney’s goal was a thing of beauty from Evan Pimentel Evan Pimentel F CA who scored a cracking goal from distance in the 33rd minute to put the Cats up going into halftime.
It was a match that saw a lot of great performances, but here are three from each side that stood out.
Alexander Bastidas Alexander Bastidas F Cathedral | 2023 CA , Cathedral, Junior, Attacking Midfielder
Bastidas used his body well to shield defenders last night as balls were being played in, and he put himself in a position to receive them and be in a dangerous position when he did. He scored a great goal and was an impact player all night.
Angel Guerra Angel Guerra 5'9" | F Cathedral (CA) | 2023 CA , Cathedral, Senior, Forward
Guerra applied constant pressure up top against Whitney, keeping the defenders on their toes by using his speed to create problems. He also delivered a beautiful ball in for the game-winning goal.
Christopher Martinez Christopher Martinez 5'10" | D Cathedral | 2023 CA , Cathedral, Senior, Central Defender
Martinez offered a lot of stability defensively and stayed strong and organized even when the Wildcats attack was coming at them strong, especially in the first 40 minutes.
Everett Shanklin, Whitney, Junior, Holding Midfielder
Shanklin is a player who sees the game well and reads it well, and he did so against Cathedral. He is a strong-bodied midfielder and he’s very smart and it comes through in how he plays.
Cody Wagner Cody Wagner M Whitney | 2025 State CA , Whitney, Sophomore, Forward
Wagner was helpful for the Whitney attack as he helped create gaps and space with his speed and strong runs forward. He is a very technically gifted player.
Danny Yoon, Whitney, Senior, Forward
Yoon is also a very technical player and he helped stretch the back line, drove into the box, created mismatches and helped the Wildcats play outside in.
De La Salle 0-1 Archbishop Mitty
The Spartans came in to their Showcase playing in the primetime spot, fresh off a good win over Wilson-Long Beach and early looked like they might be on their way to another win against a very quality opponent.
Against Archbishop Mitty, De La Salle found itself in control early, possessing large portions of the ball and being on the front foot, but could not find a breakthrough. As the Spartans struggled to find a goal, Mitty effectuated an excellent game plan and in the 74th minute got numbers forward and hit them on the counter and Jonah Guardino scored a really nice goal in the bottom right corner for the winner.
“They are a great team and it’s always a great opportunity for us to play against a team as great as they are,” Mitty coach Cesar Sanchez said. “They are big, they are physical, they brought the game to us and we knew that was going to happen and we tried to absorb as much as we can and slowly get into our style of play.
“It came down to who was going to make a mistake, and if we could catch them a little off guard we knew we would have an opportunity. It was a good team effort, everyone played for one another and if that continues we can keep pulling in good results.”
For De La Salle, it left it asking questions after feeling like they controlled large portions of the match.
“We are still trying to figure things out and find the right combinations,” De La Salle coach Derricke Brown said. “They forced us out of what we wanted to do. That’s why we play these games, to learn. You don’t always want to learn through losing or drawing, but sometimes you have to.
“They did a good job, they stuck to their game plan, they executed it really well and credit to them,” Brown said. “They had three guys who were really technical and quick in transition and it was a smart way to play.”
De La Salle had several opportunities to score and came close a few times, perhaps none closer than Cooper Kennedy’s 56th minute strike that went just wide right. A ball was played into him and smartly he let it run to his left, rounded the ball to get on his preferred right foot and one-timed a strike that sailed just wide of the far post.
Mitty really came alive after that and Diego Heredia had to stand tall to keep the Spartans in the game. He had great saves in the 68th and 70th minutes, with the latter showing great reactions and instincts. He also had a good save on a free kick in the 80th minute that kept his team in the match.
Jamison Clarke, De La Salle, Junior, Central Defender
The four in the DLS defense, he anticipated and read game well, stepped forward and won balls, did well 1v1 with attackers, shut some transitions down, found himself in the right place very often, and his distribution was good.
Jonah Guardino, Archbishop Mitty, Sophomore, Forward
Guardino became more comfortable pushing forward as the game went on and was very dangerous in transition before scoring a great game-winning goal.
Lucas Pfister, De La Salle, Senior, Central Defender
Pfister was a leader all night, both vocally and physically. He was strong in the back line, constantly stepping up to win the ball, being tough and physical in the air and breaking up several attempts for Mitty to combine and build up play.
Dexter Rupnow Dexter Rupnow F CA , Archbishop Mitty, Junior, Midfielder
Rupnow made a great adjustment in the second half, offering more between the midfield and back line. He helped build up the counter attacks, holding the ball for just an extra second to allow players to get forward before playing a good ball.