Story by Rafa Estolano-Sridharan
Staff Writer
Photo by Madeline Madrigal
Staff Photographer
Boys’ soccer beat the La Cañada Spartans 3-0 on Wednesday, Jan. 29. After a lengthy stalemate, junior forward Nicholas Dragonas made the first goal with just under 14 minutes remaining in the game.
The Tigers went into the first half with a strong offense but could not break through La Cañada’s defense. They made repeated attacks at the goal that were in turn repelled by the Spartans.
Soon, La Cañada took possession and went on the offense, making multiple passes at the goal. With only a few minutes left in the half, a Spartan player almost made a goal but was blocked by junior goalkeeper Mick Dubester.
After some more back-and-forth, the half ended without either team scoring.
The second half started the same way the last one ended. Both teams took turns attacking each other’s goals and then defending their own, but with no results.
Gearing up for another attack, senior midfielder Emilio Gonzalez was tackled by La Cañada’s goalkeeper, which got him a yellow card. South Pasadena was awarded a free kick, but failed to score.
With the clock ticking down, neither team had scored. With just 13 minutes and 40 seconds left, Dragonas made the first goal putting the Tigers in the lead 1-0.
The morale boost gave the Tigers enough momentum to keep going. This, combined with the collapse of La Cañada’s exhausted defense, helped Gonzalez score another goal for South Pasadena exactly two minutes after the first. Then, junior midfielder Samuel Rodak scored yet another goal soon, bringing the score to 3-0.
La Cañada persevered, but were not able to recover from South Pasadena’s rapid point gain. The Tigers won the game 3-0. Boys’ soccer is ranked first in the Rio Hondo league and has zero league losses. South Pasadena will play La Cañada at home again on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 1 p.m.
