Varsity Girls Soccer defeats Warren Bears
January 20, 2022
Girls soccer dominated the Warren Bears on January 18th at Allen Layne Stadium, with a final score of 3-0. While the team had a solid pre-season, the only goal in mind now is winning the CIF title, and the Lady Vikes did not let Warren get in the way.
The girls started off the game strong, with Forward Ariana Castagnola scoring 15 minutes into the first half. Throughout the first half, they continued to play aggressively in order to prevent the other team from scoring, and had another point brought in by Natalie Perez. Coach Aguniga-Campos had no doubts about their performance before the game, and knew that a focused team is what they needed to bring home a win.
“I always expect to win, I always expect our players to perform when we train really hard so I expect them to perform the same way we practice,” AC said. “They should perform like they perform in every game. Strong, confident, and workaholics. That’s what has helped us become the best program in the area in the last four years.”
The girls stayed headstrong in the second half, not letting the pressure and tension of a rivalry game let their guard down. With the crowd cheering them on, the Lady Vikes scored one last time by Castagnola, leaving the final score at 3-0. Co-Captain Alexis Covarrubias, 12, knows the backbone of the team is their ability to work together to strengthen the performance of the team.
“Our strengths definitely revolve around our defense. Nothing gets through us and they’ve helped a lot, especially against the D1 schools we’ve played,” Covarrubias said. “Each girl on the team is unique in their own way which allows us to bring our strengths together and dominate the field. Our mentality also plays a huge role because we are positive and never turn on each other like most teams do.”
Coach AC pushes his girls hard, making sure the team has depth in player ability. He emphasizes to his players that the rivalry game is “just another game” and the focus in their playing will give them the best possible outcome. After beating the Bears, co-captain Daniela Martinez, 12, shared what she thought brought the team to their win.
“From 6 a.m. practices before school to 7 p.m. practices at night, we’ve all put in so much time and effort into this program. All of our work paid off during this game and our dedication has helped shape us into the team that we are today,” Martinez said. “I was feeling really excited going into this game. It’s my senior year so that means it was my last at-home Downey vs. Warren game, so I just really wanted to make it a good one.”
Although this win was just another one under the team’s belt this season, Coach AC sees every game as a step closer to CIF. As the highest division ranked team in the league, continuing to play at their best level is what the team’s focus needs to be if they want to bring home the title once again.
