Weston Ranch boys soccer beat El Dorado HS 1-0 last night at Weston Ranch. The win over El Dorado sends the Cougars to Round 2 of the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Boys Soccer Playoffs, where they will face Pioneer HS of Wooland Tuesday, February 15, at Weston Ranch High School.
Senior Aaron Silva scored the lone goal of last night’s contest, and the goal proved to be enough for the Cougars.
Weston Ranch spent most of the first half on El Dorado’s field half. The Cougars pushed the action and attacked the El Dorado goalie with great energy. They had plenty of scoring chances and fired over a dozen shots at the goal. However, most shots sailed wide of the goal, and only six were officially on the net. Silva’s goal came via a free-kick from just outside the goalie box and with 10:23 left in the first half.
“It was an important goal for us to get,” Silva told The Prowl. “I saw a little opening in their (El Dorado) wall, and it looked like the goalie was confident that would be enough to stop my shot. So I curved it around the wall, aiming for the corner. Scoring the first goal is a big rush of adrenaline and sets a good tone for our team.”
For the remaining ten minutes of the half, the Cougars continued to pressure El Dorado but couldn’t connect on any more goals and took the 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The second half began, and the Cougars seemed a bit different. The energy subsided. The attack fell off, and the Cougars seemed hesitant to push the action. El Dorado sensed this and began attacking Weston Ranch on WR’s half of the field.
“Our energy was not as good in the second half as it was in the first half,” Silva said. “We had a lot of chance in the first half, but we couldn’t finish in the second.”
However, the Cougars did manage to play well enough defensively to make Silva’s goal stand at the end of the game. El Dorado was held to no shots in the first and managed two shots in the second, making it an easy night for goalkeeper Marcos Arriaza, who collected another shutout. However, Arriaza did turn away a point-blank shot from El Dorado in the final seconds, and that big save secured the win.
Weston Ranch will move on to Round Two and face Pioneer on February 15 at Weston Ranch. Silva believes the Cougars can go deep in the playoffs.
“I’ve played on the Varsity since I was a sophomore,” Silva said. “This is one of the best teams I’ve played on, and I think we have a great chance to keep moving on. Our finishing needs to improve, but we are doing great things as a team. We have great chemistry, and we’re all good friends. We will put in the effort next Wednesday.”
Photos courtesy and property of Weston Ranch journalism.
