Ali’s optimistic start to the soccer season

Tryouts Week:

I made the varsity team this year, my final year as a part of CVHS’s soccer program. The squad looks really strong this year from what I can see throughout the week of tryouts and our new coaching staff are holding highly ambitious goals for us., which I plan on achieving. More than ninety players came to tryout and only about forty were let into the program, hopefully signifying the beginning of a successful soccer program at CVHS. I plan to end my final year here with a bang though. My goals are to make it far throughout NCS and to also win the league above our rivals Bishop O’Dowd. Our first game is soon and I’m eager to see if we as a squad can fulfill my goals this season.

Tuesday, 11/30:

Our first game of our highly-anticipated season was nerve-racking. Ever since my freshman year in the soccer program, I’ve been waiting keenly for my senior season, with the hopes that we will win league or even NCS and today was our first scrimmage of the season against Monte Vista. Though we lost, we fought much harder than I expected against one of the best teams in NCS. I really have a positive outlook for the rest of the season after this game. Hopefully we can continue this run of form going into the league.

Wednesday, 12/8:

Three tough games have passed since our first match. Another three losses. Our whole team was discouraged with our subpar start to the season and today we had another game at San Lorenzo. Considering San Lorenzo were supposedly one of the weaker teams we were meant to play, we had high hopes going into this game, which we followed through on. We finally grabbed our first win. Hopefully this signifies the turning point of our season.

Tuesday, 12/14:

After another two losses at the hands of Berkeley and Granada, our motivation after the San Lorenzo game had quickly deteriorated. Two games which we lost in the last few seconds of the game. Two games that could’ve easily gone our way had we limited our mistakes. Today we had an away game at Heritage high school, which was quite the drive. Driven to win after the two unanticipated losses, we prevailed with a 2-0 win.

Saturday, 12/18:

Today was a symbolic day. Today marked the first day of a much-needed winter break but also an incredible win both mentally and on the scoresheet for us Trojans. We played the number one ranked team in NCS, Richmond High, and triumphed with a 1-0 win. Despite our losing record, we are now in a position where we might potentially qualify for NCS, a goal I’ve had since freshman year. Today was a great day,

Tuesday, 1/18:

Our last game was last month. We hadn’t practiced in around a month as well considering the COVID cases we had within our team. Despite our lack of training and practice, we managed to scrape away a win against Piedmont. I think we have finally developed a solid chemistry as a team, enhancing our skills on the field. I really hope COVID doesn’t screw up the rest of the season for us, especially since this is my last year. I’m looking forward to playing more games and continuing our streak.

Wednesday, Feb. 9:

Today was a pretty emotional day for us 10 seniors on the team, especially the three of us who devoted all four years of high school to this soccer program. After four grueling yet euphoric seasons with this program, the end had come. It was our senior night, our last high school home soccer game ever. We were playing Arroyo High School and yearned to secure a win on such an eventful night, which we did. I also managed to grab a goal to my name as well, as we beat them 4-1. Now we wait and see if we qualify for NCS or not. Hopefully we will.

Monday, Feb. 14:

Against all odds, we actually placed 15th in Division 1 standings and qualified for NCS, despite going 1-6 to start the season. This was a remarkable achievement for us as a team as it showcased our ability to persevere during rough times. We played on Feb. 16 against second seeded Montgomery High School. This game will be extremely challenging to say the least and I hope we can manage to scrape a win as the underdogs. If not, the season comes to an end.

Wednesday, Feb. 16:

Going into the game as underdogs meant we had nothing to lose. We all arrived at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa two hours before the game to get locked in, which we showed on the field. Throughout the game, we impressively dominated the second-seed high school. This game was a rough one though. We had plenty of chances but couldn’t capitalize on them and right before the end of the first half, Montgomery managed to sneak a goal in despite a heroic performance from goalkeeper Jase Brede. The game eventually was drawn out to a 1-0 loss for us, despite an incredible performance from our team. We were all very dejected, especially after the hard work we put in to get to this point in the season. I’m immensely proud of the team and hope to come back and watch them thrive in the next coming years. For me though, I’m retiring from soccer. After 14 years of daily practices and weekend games, it comes to an end for me. This season, though ended with heartbreak, came with glory, entertainment, hope, and euphoria for me alongside my teammates. It was a season I’ll never forget.