St. Mary's 7th graders, Daniel, Brendan Quock, Brandon Khuu and Hunter played three years of soccer coming into this season. They all never officially won a game.
Now, the four boys are one win away from winning a soccer championship.
By no means was this the best game the 7th/8th grade boys have played this year, but it was enough, a 2-1 victory that puts them on the doorstep of a title.
Eloy broke a 1-1 tie early in the fourth when he placed a ball into the back of the net off of a pretty feed from Sebastian.
The play started at mid-field when Pablo and Sebastian played give and go down the left wing. Sebastian took a turn towards the middle, waited for Eloy to break and put the ball right where Eloy needed it in order to score the goal.
It did get a little dicey at the end when the other team had a shot right in front of an empty net, but luckily they pushed it wide.
Julio was racing back to retrieve a ball and instead of taking the sideline, which was clear, he turned and didn't get all of a kick. The ball fell right into the lap of the opposing player who did not connect for a score.
The defense had their poorest showing in a few games, but were bailed out by goalie Anthony, who played the best game of his career.
Off of a free kick in the third, Anthony had to leap high and tap the ball over the net to prevent a goal.
However, it was revealed after the game, the goal wouldn't have counted anyways since a free kick from that far could not be scored on a direct kick (one touch).
His best save came in the third to preserve a 1-1 tie when he slid to the turf, swallowing a shot from inside the box off an opposing player who was racing in.
The 7th/8th grade got on the scoreboard first with seconds left in the first half. Eloy kicked a ball towards the top of the box, and Jon Jett was there to squib the ball in front of Pablo, who was coming down the left wing.
Pablo took his time and finessed it by the other team's goalie to make it 1-0 going into the break.
In the third quarter, the 7th/8th graders were not sharp, and were being pressured in their zone time and time again. The other team finally got through the defense when most of the team's defenders clogged one side of the field.
The poor spacing resulted in a ball rolling from the left wing to the front of the net where there were two blue jerseys ready to tuck the ball into the goal.
That made the score 1-1.
Minutes later, Eloy sent a ball towards the net that hit the top of the crossbar. And then with a 2-1 lead late in the game, Eloy beat everyone to a loose ball in the box, centered it to Sebastian who back heeled it a foot over the net.
With the win, the 7th/8th grade will play for the championship next Saturday at West Sunset with kickoff scheduled at 9:45 a.m.
They will face SVDP who they played to a 1-1 draw earlier this season.
For a school that has been blown out in soccer and borderline embarrassed in the last three years, playing in a championship is nothing short of remarkable.
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