Dos Pueblos boys soccer repeated as champions of the Cats & Hounds Tournament on Saturday.
The Chargers secured a 2-1 win over Monrovia in the semifinals before taking down Mira Monte, 1-0, in the championship matchup. John Duffy was named the Cats & Hounds Tournament MVP.
Duffy scored both of the Dos Pueblos goals in the semifinal victory, both of which came in the first six minutes of the game. From there, the Charger defense dominated en route to the win.
“The team defended very strongly in the second half, with the help of our JV call-ups that stepped up to play valuable minutes all weekend and also senior defenders Emi Martinez, Johnny Villafana and Makai Callis,” Dos Pueblos coach Matt York said.
Duffy also accounted for all of the scoring in the tournament championship, scoring an unassisted goal in the eighth minute. The score was his fifth of the tournament.
“The team battled against a very physical quality opponent in Mira Monte, who had won all three games leading up to this matchup,” York said. “Captains Ryan Curtis, Isaac Jimenez and Andrew Gomez helped keep the team composed and organized to keep the shutout.
“Throughout the whole weekend, the team’s key to success collectively was its defense, only conceding one goal throughout.”
Dos Pueblos will head down to Peabody Stadium to take on Santa Barbara High on Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. for the Channel League opener.
San Marcos 2, Arroyo Grande 2
The Royals came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw with Arroyo Grande on Saturday.
San Marcos has begun their non-league schedule with a 2-1-1 record and will begin Channel League play at home against Oxnard on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
“Arroyo Grande was another good test for us. They were fit and worked hard all game,” San Marcos coach Paul McLean said.
Arroyo Grande had control for the majority of the game, scoring late in the first half and early in the second to take a 2-0 lead.
However, San Marcos made a push down the final stretch to draw even.
With 10 minutes left, Jose Ramirez cut the deficit down to one by converting a penalty kick goal.
“Jose was outstanding at finding pockets of space to create chances,” McLean said. “Sophomore Elliott Gray held the ball for us up top and distributed it well.”
Eight minutes later, Sergio Ramirez crossed the ball to the back post and Fernando Lara found the back of the net to secure the equalizer and the eventual draw.
“We showed good mental strength to come back from being down two goals,” McLean said. “Today was not our best performance but we are also raising the bar for the level of play we are capable of. We are excited to put all the pieces together.”
Santa Barbara High Doubleheader
The Dons dropped both games of their doubleheader on Saturday against Salesian, 2-1, and St. Francis, 2-0, on Saturday.
Santa Barbara High’s lone goal of the day came early in the first game as Pablo Desales slotted a corner kick to Pietro Nascente, who finished it off to go up 1-0.
However, Salesian took control of the game in the second half with a pair of goals to pull away for the 2-1 win.
“[Salesian] held most of the possession but we knew that going into the game, and we knew we were going to have to grind it out to get a result,” Dons coach Ricardo Alcaraz said. “That was a top team, they moved the ball well and were very well organized.”
St. Francis tacked on one goal in each half while holding Santa Barbara High scoreless to secure the win.
“Considering how much we defended the night before, our players showed tremendous effort,” Alcaraz said. “We had JV players and other players stepping up due to injuries and players with fatigue.
“I thought Santiago Buenrostro and Josue Iventura stepped up to the challenge and played well.”
The Dons (2-3-1) will host Dos Pueblos on Tuesday.