For the second year in a row, the Poly boys’ varsity soccer team won the Division 7 CIF Championship game, a historical monument and testament to their talent and resilience.
The Panthers’ toughest game of the postseason came in the semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 21, when the Panthers hosted Cerritos at Pasadena City College. The game was a defensive battle, going down to the wire. With so much on the line, it was junior Nico Wilson who stepped up in the second cycle of penalties, propelling the Panthers to the finals. “My focus for the game was just to do the best I could to help the team win, and stepping up to the penalty, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to do so. Watching the shot go in, I was happy but also just proud of our team for making it back to the finals.” Wilson said.
With a spot in the finals, the Panthers approached the following practices with a new level of focus. Junior forward Momo Tonthat commented, “We were all super focused in the practices leading up to the CIF final because a lot of us had been there before, and we knew how important it was to have really good [training] before the match.
On Saturday, Feb. 28, the Panthers hosted Palmdale Academy Charter School Jaguars at South Pasadena High School. The sun was out with a subtle breeze, creating the perfect weather for an exciting match. As the warmup clock inched closer to zero, the stands began to fill with students, parents, teachers, and friends alike.
As the game began, the Panthers and Jaguars were locked in a defensive battle, with Poly making numerous attempts on goal that were repeatedly stopped by the Palmdale goalkeeper. The game was tied as both teams escaped from the beaming sun to the locker room.
Coming out of the half, both teams sought to get on the board and ultimately claim the Division 7 championship, but it wasn’t until late into the second half when Tonthat would elude the goalie and boot the ball in, putting the Panthers up 1-0. Fans erupted in the stands, and a sense of excitement began to build in the crowd as the title seemed just that much closer.
Shortly after though, the Panthers struck again as senior Joe Benitez connected with senior Warren Peng on a tap-in goal to put the Panthers up 2-0. Freshman Rudy Chavarria booted in one last goal, sealing the game 3-0. The team stormed the field as they cemented themselves into Poly history.
Despite the team’s first round loss in state playoffs, the team can celebrate a historic run and look forward to next year as they hunt for a third consecutive CIF ring. The program, which has been on a huge uprise in the previous years, despite the loss of several key seniors, the team looks to continue to build, and we cannot wait to see what they do next.
