Foothill Tech defeats Le Lychee 7-1 in the first round of CIF

On Feb. 13, 2025, under Ventura College stadium lights, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) boys soccer team battled against Le Lychee High School (Le Lychee).

Foothill Tech started off strong in the first half, keeping their energy up and playing the ball forward. Stefan Hubner ‘25 commented on one of their highlight moments, saying “The second goal that we scored, start to finish, was a teamwork goal. It started from the moment the other team had the kickoff, moving from defense, to midfield, back to defense, to the wing, up forward through the middle, and finally finished in the net with our striker.”

When asked about some key players during the game, Ronan Murphy commented, “Honestly you could give a man of the match award to any of the 5-6 guys that ended up scoring, but I have to go with Erik Valdez and Stefan Hubner. Erik owned the offensive midfield and there wasn’t a 1 on 1 he wasn’t winning all game. Stefan in the defensive midfield helped organize the defense and keep everything steady, along with some really key passes.”

The Le Lychee Lions never quite caught up during the game, only scoring one goal throughout the match. However, Foothill Tech was clearly in charge of the game, scoring 3 goals in the first half and 4 in the second. The Dragons who made the goal-winning shots were Kaiser Castillo ‘28, Ammar Attiah ‘26, Asher Bayless ‘26, Iker Rodriguez ‘28, Gavin Leedy ‘27, and Noah Giradot ‘26.

Atiah commented on the match, saying “I think what me and the whole team took away best was how important winning those first and second balls are, how important our build up/touches are, and that we need to finish as many opportunities as we can.”

Foothill Tech falls to Cobalt in a 1-4 loss

On Feb. 15, the second round of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) division seven  playoffs took place at Ventura High School’s Larrabee Stadium. This match saw the competition between Foothill Tech and the team from the Cobalt Institute of Math & Science Academy (Cobalt). After ninety minutes of intense play, Foothill Tech was eliminated by Cobalt 1-4, ending their season. 

The game started with both teams battling for control, but Cobalt was the first to strike. A well-placed corner kick found its target, leading to a header that put Foothill Tech behind 0-1. Cobalt kept up the offensive pressure with another attack which was deflected by goalkeeper Julian Lopez ’25.

The game grew increasingly physical as Foothill Tech pushed forward in search of an equalizer. Erick Valdez ’28 suffered a hard tackle that left him on the ground, resulting in a yellow card for Cobalt. Shortly after, the Dragons earned a promising corner kick opportunity, but couldn’t find a way to get the ball into the net.

Asher Bayless ‘26 stated, “We couldn’t really find the middle and out … we got caught up on the ball and didn’t really get that many good chances.”

A breakthrough finally came when Foothill Tech was awarded a penalty kick. Ammar Atiah ’26 stepped up and confidently slotted the ball into the left side of the net, leveling the score at 1-1. The momentum seemed to shift in the Dragons’ favor as they pressed forward, but Atiah narrowly missed another scoring opportunity minutes later.

Tensions and aggressive play rose as the game progressed, and Cobalt was awarded a penalty kick in which they took full advantage, converting the opportunity to take a 1-2 lead. 

Despite saves from Lopez, Cobalt’s persistence paid off. They netted another crucial goal to increase their lead 1-3, cementing their control over the first half.

Stefan Huebner ‘25 commented, “I think that first goal of a set piece got in everyone’s heads … the energy never really came back from what it was at the beginning.”

After the halftime break, the Dragons needed to build momentum if they were to come back. Several drives were made up the field but petered out before an attempt on goal was made. Huebner however was able to deliver a strong free kick attempt, but it narrowly missed the mark.

Cobalt sealed the game with a well-executed corner kick goal, bringing the final score to 1-4, concluding the season for the Dragons. 

Huebner reflected, stating, “A lot of people would say it’s disappointing to go out in CIF, but we won our first round under rainy conditions 7-1 and we actually came further than we expected from the beginning of the season.”

Foothill Tech posted a 7-8 overall record and a 4-4 league record which earned them third in league. 

Head Coach, Sam Valdez reflected on the season, stating, “Definitely an interesting season … we battled some weather throughout but at the end of the day the boys all came through and put out great performances … I’m really proud of the work they put in.”

Editor’s note: The photos used above were taken at a different match than the ones referenced in this article.