Boys Soccer Historic Win Against San Clemente

Arush Mehrotra, Staff Writer 

After defeating Mira Costa for their first ever division 1 victory, Boys Soccer defeated the number one ranked team in the state: San Clemente. After a scoreless draw, the match came down to the wire in a penalty shootout, with the Trojans winning 7-6 in penalties. 
“Coming into the game, we knew were underdogs and that everyone was counting us out,” junior winger Rohit Chawla said. “But, after winning the last game we knew that we were 100% capable of winning the game and from the beginning, we never had a doubt we were going to win.”
Along with this win, the team was confident that their months of hard work during the off-season and season itself would pay off.
“We’ve been working so hard and we weren’t intimidated for one second by them,” junior midfielder Akash Dewan said.
This confidence permeated throughout the team as demonstrated by their determination to fend off one of the best offenses in the state.
“The game was really intense playing against the defending CIF champs for 100 minutes. We all showed our heart, passion, and worked hard for each other,” senior captain and defender Kyle Biagan said. 
Furthermore, this win took not only individual talent, but a combination of teamwork and communication. Though the end result had an element of luck, getting there reflected the team’s ability.
“Staying in that game against a great San Clemente team for 80 minutes of regular time and 20 minutes of extra took so much communication and desire from us,” junior captain and defender Nic Conta said. “ Winning a penalty shootout is a lottery but the feeling of our crowd supporting us helped us and made the moment we won even sweeter.”
The team describes the pure elation they felt following the win in penalties.
“It felt amazing when we won in the penalty shootout and the crowd went crazy and ran onto the field,” senior defender and captain Mahziar Sakiani said.
Despite the recent loss against Servite High School marking the end of the season, the team is very proud of their accomplishments this season.
“We are very proud of this season and what this program proved,” Conta said. 
They look to carry momentum from this historic season into future years. 
“I am hopeful that next year we can win it all,” Chawla said.