No. 7 De Anza to square off against Cabrillo in first round of playoffs
Previewing the Dons’ first postseason matchup
De Anza forward Sahr Mattia runs through a defender during the Dons’ match against Canada College on Oct. 9. The No. 7 De Anza have the championship in their sights, playing No. 10 Cabrillo in the first round of the playoffs.
November 20, 2015
The De Anza College men’s soccer team, which finished third in the South Coast Conference, received the No. 7 seed for the upcoming Northern California Regional playoffs. They will stay home and face No. 10 Cabrillo College in their first game of the playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m.
This is the second consecutive postseason appearance for De Anza under head coach Rusty Johnson, and the Dons look to improve on last year’s riveting final four appearance, which ended in penalty-kick loss to Mt. San Antonio College.
De Anza (13-4-3) finished a few spots behind the leaders after winning the conference the year before. Cabrillo (9-4-6) returns to the playoffs after missing the postseason in 2014.
Saturday’s playoff game will be a rematch from their Nov. 10 encounter in which they tied 2-2.
After hitting a mid-season skid that resulted in a 4-3-1 record in October, De Anza heads into the playoffs with some momentum, going 3-0-1 in the month of November.
The Dons will compete without key players due to injuries: goalie Arshia Aghababazadeh (knee), forward Ahmed Mohammed (knee) and midfielder Josue Mendoza (concussion).
The winner of the contest will advance and play No. 2 West Valley College in the second round on Tuesday, Nov. 24. Three regional wins will advance the Dons to the California Community College Athletic Association Soccer final four which will be hosted by De Anza College on Dec. 4-6.
