CA High School Boys: The Battle for First Place

Friday Night Lights in San Jose meant a cool 50 degrees and a big time matchup with the top 2 teams in their league.  Both the LCPA (Latino College Preparatory Academy) Golden Eagles and the Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit Lions came in with 6-0 league record (1st) and an impressive 46-1 goal differential in league play.  LCPA was in 2nd place with a 3-0 league record.   Christian Ortiz (F) opened up the scoring just outside of the 18 yard box with an exciting penalty shot into the top right hand corner of the goal.  Ortiz also got the second and final goal of the match on a  "break down in defense" leading to a one on one with the keeper and sliding it past him on an angled run.  On the defensive side, the Golden Eagles kept a clean sheet by center back CB Ruben Suarez and goalkeeper Freddy Duran.  Suarez used his size and ability to pass the ball out of back and Duran's shot stopping ability made it difficult for the Lions to get on the board.    Had the most tackles and anchored the defense by vocal commands and moving his defensive line on counter attacks.  Andrew also calculated when attackers tried slipping through the lanes.  He broke apart many runs in the midfield as well in his defensive third.  Munoz used his athletic abilities to shut down aerial attacks and he definitely had the most touches by either team.  He led counter attacks by sending long balls over the top and by distributing the ball anywhere on the pitch.  Although he is only in his first year of high school, he is making a big impact on his high school team and I can't wait to evaluate him during club competition.     Is a quick player who times his diagonal runs between the defense.  Cristian slipped past defenders with one-two passes and showed great touch.  He also is a tough player who got up every time he was knocked down.  Ortiz led his offense by also checking back to receive passes and to quickly make connecting and change of direction movements to get into the attacking third.  He made good use of his scoring opportunities and he had the only two goals in the match.  His direct kick goal was one of the best I've seen in awhile.     He showed strength in defense by shutting down attackers cutting through lanes.  Jesus made it difficult for players trying to lob passes over the top.  He cleared multiple balls from his goal box and also made quick connecting passes to players running up and down the channels.  He has good height and knows how to track players and position his body to break up triangle passes.     Was good at reading the game, he distributes the ball well, and has a good first touch. He moved up and down the pitch to regain possession and help the team to keep their composure when trailing the Lions. He made a few connecting passes to get his offense into scoring range, but luck wasn't on their side as the shots went wide or over the crossbar. Rodriquez made quick, decisive and tight passes as forwards sliced between the defense. It would definitely make his job easier and nice to see their second round matchup if all of their offense is present in that game.     He has great size and plays a physical style paired with a good soccer IQ.  He doesn't take necessary risks and he seems to know the attacking angles well. Suarez started most transitions from the back and he had good focus and tracked players attempting to get between the lanes.  He won 50/50 challenges and never backed down against the Lions, as they made a hard push during the remaining 20 minutes of the match.  If I didn't know he was a freshman, I would've definitely thought he was an upperclassman due to his size and skills.     Demonstrated shot-stopping skills by making diving saves, anticipating angled runs, and by punching the ball out in the penalty box.  Freddy made some really good saves to help his team to a shutout.  As the Lions pushed in the later stages of the game, it was apparent that he wasn't going to let down one bit.  Duran stopped multiple attacks and even deflected shots at close range.  His ability to block off the attacking lanes forced the shots to go wide or high.  He also showed his ability to challenge up high during corner kicks and crosses sent across the mouth of the goal.    On the Cristo Rey side, standouts included CB [player_tooltip player_id='274706' first='Andrew' last='Jaimes'] Munoz, CB Jesus Silva Lopez, and CM Isaac Rodiguez.  Munoz exhibited great tactical awareness.  He has high level technical skills and easily started counter attacks out of the back field.  Throughout the game he challenged attackers from all parts of the field by timing his slide tackles and cutting off passing lanes.  Lopez also played a big part of the Lions defensive effort, by stepping into lanes and applying constant pressure on forwards.  Rodriguez used vision and movement to set up his team's attack and easily sent through passes to players making diagonal runs.   Next up for the coach David Wulff and the Golden Eagles is to make a run to the league championship.  His team can run the tables if they win out.  Although Coach Adela Contreras and the Lions have a few more wins in the league, they will be the ones keeping pace with LCPA and a showdown during their second round match will probably determine which team gets the automatic bid to the CCS (Central Coast Section) tournament.

Friday Night Lights in San Jose meant a cool 50 degrees and a big time matchup with the top 2 teams in their league. Both the LCPA (Latino College Preparatory Academy) Golden Eagles and the Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit Lions came in with 6-0 league record (1st) and an impressive 46-1 goal differential in league play. LCPA was in 2nd place with a 3-0 league record.