Tonight’s soccer contest against Sierra High is for all the VOL marbles.  In a “win you win” scenario, our boy’s soccer team has an opportunity to clinch the outright championship if they defeat the Timberwolves.  Although a tie when the final horn goes off still means the team wins the VOL title outright, our soccer team is ready to win the title on the field and to leave no questions.

The Cougars come into tonight’s game with a  league record of 9-1-1, and they are coming off a sound thrashing of Central Catholic.  Friday’s game against Central Catholic saw the Cougars score eight goals, and it was also a brief glimpse of what to expect tonight.  Are the Cougars ready?

“Our team is led by 14 Seniors,” head coach Francisco Cisneros said.  “They’ve paid their dues and understand our formations and the style of play we want to push.”

This group of Seniors, led by Roberto Gonzales, are following Weston Ranch teams who have won Section Championships.  Gonzalez, who leads the team with 21 goals, recently signed a letter-of-intent to play for Ottawa University of Arizona.  The Seniors were part of a rebuilding process.

“Last year, year two of the rebuild, we won seven games and made the playoffs,” Cisneros said.  “So, with most of them returning for this year, and the addition of other key players, we’ve managed to put together a pretty impressive season.  This team has been in the making for three years, and they deserve all the success because they’ve stuck with it and worked together for tonight.”

So, back to tonight.  Successful teams begin each season with the dream and goal of being league champions.  What makes tonight so special for Cisneros and his squad?

“Everything will be on the line tonight,” an excited Cisneros beamed.  “This is why coaches coach and players play.  You play and coach for opportunities like these.  If we don’t make early mistakes like we did last time we played, and we play with high intensity for 80 minutes, we will be successful.”

In addition to this magical run, it’s incredible to think that the Cougars have done all this playing on the school’s practice field and not in our stadium.  That’s tough to do when you ponder the idea of not having a “home field.” It was not an easy adjustment for the players.  However, the team has overcome the field adversity, put up with the travel, and logged and drudged through the long hours of practice all for tonight.

“We’d love to see a big crowd supporting our guys.  Although we have playoffs to look forward to, it’s the Seniors last league game and the night should be pretty special for everyone,” Cisneros concluded.

Best of luck to the soccer team, and get on down to Lathrop tonight.  Game time is 5:45.