SJND Soccer Season Recap
Written by Max L. ‘27
Coming in hot, the SJND Varsity team won 10–0 against Contra Costa Christian in the first game of the season. The rest of the season was a thrilling and eventful journey filled with its ups and downs. Let’s kick off the season and how it went from the beginning and introduce Coach Iman, the Varsity SJND Soccer Coach for the past 14 years. Sadly, this year it was Coach Iman’s last year coaching Varsity Soccer.
But with a strong mindset, skill, energy, and most importantly teamwork, they secured a win in their first game with an impressive victory. One of the star players on the team was Michael Bautista also called the best team player on the Varsity team with his positive energy and encouraging his teammates no matter what happens in the games. Special mentions are Nico and Kirubel for being star players with their ball control, attacking, and defensive skills. The Varsity team captains are Kirubel, Nico, Jesse, and Michael.
The Varsity practice schedule was after school every day until the season ended, and they would have breaks only on holidays. The bus would take the players to practice on the soccer field at College of Alameda, and usually, practices would start at 4:15 and end at 6:00. There would be daily conditioning tests done on the players and drills on ball control, the first touch of the ball, shooting drills, and defensive drills.
The most goals scored on the team were from Jesse with an impressive amount of six goals. The Varsity team said Michael Bautista and Max Beas were the best at defense with their amazing first touch and cool temper under pressure helping them play with power and aggression. The honor to be the goalie of the team was Alexander Nguyen. He was an amazing goalie all season long and played even when he was injured from his ribs. This just goes to show his dedication to his team and the love he has for soccer. Alex had three assists on goals made but his teammates and over 26 blocks and 32 saves made throughout the season.
Some of the best wins on the Varsity Soccer team were against Contra Costa 10–0, California Crosspoint 4–1, Valley Christian 4–2, again Valley Christian 4–1, and Fremont Christian 3–0. Some of the toughest losses were against College Prep and Head Royce. During the Head Royce game, Alex the goalie was still healing from his ribs and got hit on his ribs during the game causing us to lose sadly. The overview of the soccer season was 7 wins, 3 ties, and 9 losses. “Well, I think that this season it could’ve been better, but I am overall happy with the whole season but I wanted to win more games,” said Michael Bautista.
Let’s talk about the team’s chemistry. A lot of players said they were like family making them very close, which helped them a lot in the games so they were able to pass and do plays without saying anything, so the opponents didn’t know what they were doing. This gave the Varsity team a huge advantage throughout the season. “We considered each other as brothers. Every practice we would push one another to our max and this was reflected in our games. We always had each other’s back. If we were to argue, we would know how to settle it, and we fought with passion every game. I felt like this team had something together,” said Alexander Nguyen. This also just shows how soccer is more than a sport but a family.
The style of how Varsity played was very aggressive against the opposing team and their mindset was to make goals, while also having a strong defense. This team was very even out of attackers and defenders making them have better plays on the field, making them a very hard team to go against.
The last game was the biggest yet because it was Senior Night and this game also decided if the Varsity soccer team would make playoffs. Everyone in this game brought their all and tried their best to win this game, but Redwood Christian also was there to play and try to win to go to playoffs.
“Well for the last game, it’s Senior night. It was something different I guess for me because it was like an experience that I had never experienced because it was the last game of the season where I knew a good chunk of people were leaving the team,” said Michael Bautista.
The game was back and forth with who had the ball, andeveryone was playing with energy and heart. But Redwood made the first goal on us, but we returned it with a goal of our own. When the game finally ended, it was a tie 1–1 against Redwood Christian, and the field was full of mixed emotions.
This is because both teams will not make playoffs due to the game ending in a tie. As it was Senior night, the Pilots community came out to show their support and love.
The SJND varsity soccer team was a remarkable one. From winning their first game to a satisfying ending with the season, the players showcased their abilities and hearts on the field throughout every match. Their efforts and dedication should be celebrated, as they proved themselves to be formidable competitors on the field.
