De Anza’s soccer team started their season in Dallas, Texas with hopes of ending their season in the state championship at Fresno Pacific University. At the beginning of the season, the inexperience of the players on the men’s soccer team’s proved to be a handicap as they tried to build a team. Overall they never lacked desire, heart, or talent, yet struggled to channel these attributes productively. On September 25th the men’s soccer team traveled to our sister school to play the Foothill Owls. Going into the game De Anza’s record was a disappointing to say the least, with only one win in eight attempts, and riding a seven game winless streak. The game was very intense from the very first minute, and when a altercation on the field took place in the game’s fortieth minute, De Anza’s goalkeeper Aliou Diallo was given a red card-meaning he was ejected from the game. De Anza ended up losing the battle that day, 0-4, dropping the team’s record to a disastrous 1-6-2. At times the team looked uncomfortable on the field and the team needed to come together to salvage their season before it was to late. Three days later, on September 28th , De Anza faced a strong Hartnell team who currently leads their division. The game would end in a tie, but you could sense a different team was on the field, the pieces were starting to come together. The month of October started out with two wins, followed by an important win against West Valley. The team gained momentum while having fun playing the game. The three game win streak was stretched to five when the Dons took the field last Friday against the Foothill Owls for the rematch they had been waiting a month for. Were the Owls ready for the revamped, De Anza Dons? The first half was very physical, but ended with no goals scored for either team. De Anza was the first to break the skin and draw blood early in the second half, when Huberto Pineda assisted Chad Thompson’s fifth goal of the season. The goal relayed the message to the nationally ranked 6th Owls of Foothill, that we were here to play. The one goal lead was stretched to two, minutes later when Francsico Uribe scored unassisted, giving him his second goal on the year. With a decent lead the Dons strategy shifted from full offensive attack, to ball control and clock management. As the clock dwindled away a look of panic formed on Foothill’s coach, Tom Linear’s face. The Owls would come back to score one goal, but it would not be enough as the Don’s won their sixth in a row to improve their overall record to 7-6-3 and a perfect 5-0 in division play. The game was summed up best when a animated Noel Vera was standing in the training room with his coach, “Nobody told us we were not supposed to win, nobody.” The excitement of this Cinderella story keeps the fan intrigued and energized as the soccer team attempts to keep their winning streak, so go check out their next home game. De Anza will be playing at home, Friday October 26th against conference rival Gavilan with the game starting at 4pm.
