As the final whistle blew at the end of last Friday’s Seniors’ Night game vs. Lynbrook, fans and blews erupted in celebration of a 1-0 win on a goal of the foot of senior Charles Debling and shutout goalkeeping from senior Neil Rao.
This was the key game they needed to win to secure first place in the El Camino division with a record of 7-2-1 and qualify for CCS.
“I’m really happy because we were supposed to make CCS last year (but didn’t),” senior captain Solomon Bailey said. “So this year, we were finally able to prove that Saratoga has a good team that’s capable of making CCS.”
The team had already lost 4-3 to the Vikings, a result Bailey called an upset.
“I think the thing that helped us win was the fact that it was Seniors’ Night,” Bailey said. “Myself and all the other seniors wanted to make CCS and end our high school years on a good note.”
The league season was made more difficult with the loss of senior forward Tim Kobara to a leg injury and junior defensive center midfielder Jules Ducrot to a torn ACL and MCL in early January. Instead of relying on stars, the remaining players had improve their ball movement and coordination.
“This year, we don’t have one specific player that we’re relying on; it’s a team effort,” Bailey said. “Relying on one player is not really fun. Instead, we’re playing more strategically and passing to the players that are in the best positions to score.”
Outside back sophomore Brian Wu said this win was a huge milestone for the team and also reflective of the team’s season-long hard work.
“I'm really happy that the team was able to do so well this season, especially since it's not easy to consistently stay at the top of the division,” Wu said. “I think this was just a really anticipated game, so everyone was very focused and determined to win.”
As the season comes to a close, Bailey looks back on his years on the team as “memorable and real.”
While there is still a division game vs. Milpitas on Feb. 16, the Falcons have essentially secured first place in the division. The team is now preparing for CCS next week, where they will face much tougher teams than those in their division.
“I’ve been part of the team for all four years of high school,” Bailey said. “Each year we came as friends and played the beautiful game, and we play because we love the game and wanted to have fun together.”
