By Noah Miyamae
Assoc. Sports Editor
Photos by Matt Scholtz
The boys’ varsity soccer team defeated the Alhambra Moors on the road by a score of 2-0 on Friday, December 11. The team, with its first victory, now stands at 1-3 in preseason.
The team had momentum from the beginning as a combination of the desire to end their losing streak and pregame rain showers seemed to rally the players. South Pas improved their passing in this match and was able to keep possession of the ball in the early minutes. Junior midfielder Max Amido passed the ball to senior midfielder Tim Hitchcock, who crossed it into the middle to the Tiger front line. The ball ricocheted around, but sophomore striker Jack Renken recovered the ball and kicked it passed the goalie to make the score 1-0 within the first five minutes. The Tigers continued to keep the pressure on the Moor defense throughout the half and had a second strong scoring opportunity halfway through. Senior midfielder Oskar Hernandez made the score 2-0 when he headed the ball in from a well placed corner kick. The half concluded with South Pas having a strong two goal lead and dominant possession over the Moors.
The team shut down the Moor offense in the second half as South Pas continued to keep the pressure on Alhambra’s defense. The Moors rarely had a scoring opportunity, but senior defender Clayton Kabealo foiled many of their attempts when they did happen. The Tigers took many shots on goal, but none went in. However, the boys had control of the game as the only option that the Moors had was to clear the ball away from the dynamic South Pas strikers. Alhambra was never able to get on the board and the match concluded by a score of 2-0.
“The team was very determined before the game as we wanted to end the losing streak,” junior Mathew Kramsch said, “We knew that if we worked very hard and as a unit, this could be possible.”
The squad will try to improve their record to 2-3 on Tuesday, December 15 at home against Pasadena Poly.
