Cate boys soccer braved the storm and earned a 2-1 victory over El Toro at Meldman Field on Thursday to open the CIF-SS Div. 1 playoffs.
The Rams carried over the momentum from their undefeated regular season, punching their ticket to a second-round matchup with either Pasadena or Fontana on Saturday.
If Pasadena comes out on top, Cate will be the host on Saturday at 5 p.m. If Fontana wins, the Rams will be on the road on Saturday.
“We’ve been getting a plethora of questions about how we feel about jumping from D6 to D1,” Cate head coach Jorge Reynoso said. “I can’t recall how many times I was asked if we are out of our league since the brackets were released and my answer has been the same.
“I’m not worried, our team wants to prove we belong and can play with anyone, and we have confidence we can compete at this level. We know it’s only the first round but I believe we proved that today.”
The Rams got the scoring started in the third minute of the match when George Marin was taken down inside the 18-yard box and drew a penalty.
Marin stepped up to the line and buried the shot to give Cate an early 1-0 lead.
The rain continued to fall throughout the first half, resulting in both sides struggling to find scoring opportunities. As a result, the Rams held onto the 1-0 advantage heading into halftime.
In the second half, the rain cleared up and El Toro got on the scoreboard with a penalty goal in the 53rd minute to even the score at 1-1.
Cate then turned into the aggressor on the offensive end and it paid off in the 71st minute on a corner kick play.
Kamil Abdul Nafeo took the corner kick and fired a cross to Marin, who rose above the defense and headed the ball across the goal line for the go-ahead score.
El Toro went all in for the final 14 minutes of play, but goalkeeper Quincy Thorne and the Cate defense kept their opponent off the scoreboard to hold on for the 2-1 win.
