The boys’ soccer team competed in the second round of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoffs against Pacific High School on Wednesday night. David Daniel ‘17 scored the first goal of the game assisted by Cole Chilcutt ‘18, giving the Dragons a 1-0 lead at halftime. Chilcutt scored the second goal off an assist from Miles Gillespie ‘17, clinching the 2-1 win for the Dragons and securing their spot in the CIF quarter finals.

For Noah Colby ‘17, “competing in CIF is the most intense, fastest game of soccer [he’s] ever gotten the chance to play.”

Colby believes that CIF has forced the team to play at a higher level due to its competitive nature. He felt that the team played with “the right intensity” throughout the entirety of the game and that they “fought as hard as they could” to earn the win.

Although he thought that the Wednesday night game was not one of his better performances, he believes that “a win for the team is a win for everybody.” He thinks that one of the team’s biggest strengths is their drive and persistence. He believes that each player competes from start to finish and never gives up.

Despite their efforts, with each game comes struggles and challenges. Just like every other game, Colby felt that the team suffered from bad passes, miscommunication and missed shots. However, he believes that being able to finish their shots has been the team’s biggest weakness throughout the entirety of the season.

“Our greatest team weakness all year that has plagued us is our ability to finish shots,” Colby said. “We have been able to get open looks at the goal, but making the most of those opportunities has been a struggle that every member of our team has had.”

According to Colby, “competing in CIF is ridiculously competitive” because a loss would result in the end of their season and for some seniors, the end of their soccer career.

Because of this pressure, he feels that it is hard for the team to keep their composure during CIF games because the speed of the game is so much quicker than the team is used too. However, he feels that that the team displayed a great deal of “team effort” to pull off the win.

“Every team is so hungry for a win that every run, every pass, every shot really matters,” he said. “‘Every game is a final,’ our coach always says. One loss and you’re done for the season, and for some of us, done with soccer for good.”

The team will compete in the CIF quarter finals against Nuview Bridge on February 25.