St. Monica was able to outlast Chadwick 2-0 in this physical Division 8 championship game.
In terms of the Mariners' preparedness, St. Monica student Christian Gonzalez said, “I think they’re going to do extremely well. I mean they’ve been very competitive, I think they've only let up one or two goals this whole season. Their coach is really trying to shift the culture of the program. We have a new coach this year, so exciting things are happening.”
At the start of the first half, St. Monica was off to the races, forward Nicholas Barillas was navigating the Chadwick defense with his dribbling skills. It was a possession battle early on in this contest. Chadwick almost gave up a goal on a corner kick that should have been put away by St. Monica.
The Mariners defenders, midfielders and forwards all displayed crisp ball control throughout the game. Elmaleh, of St. Monica controlled the midfield the entire game. The crowd officially made their presence known during a couple of St. Monica’s runs to the net.
For Chadwick, forward Yuta Takahashi, was the impact player. The Chadwick fans erupted at a near goal attempt. The St. Monica fans cheered when their team dribbled through Chadwick defenders. Both teams played great defense in the first half. The halfbacks were not giving up anything on both sides. At the end of the first half, Takahashi was able to shield off a defender to start a run. However, his teammate was not able to get it back to him on the give and go. It was a stalemate at the half 0-0.
The physicality really started to show itself in the second half for both teams. Takahashi tried to start a run for Chadwick but was taken down. As he hopped back up, he motioned to the Chadwick fans to fire them up in this tightly contested championship game.
Martinez of St. Monica nearly missed the first shot on goal in this game. Next, Chadwick missed a shot on goal and their fans were beside themselves, they wanted a goal so badly for their team in this heated contest. Eventually, St. Monica’s midfielder, Elmaleh broke through with a header from a corner kick for the first goal of the match. Soon after, the Mariners scored a second goal. Martinez was able to get his foot on a free kick and score. This increased the Mariners lead to 2-0.
Takahashi was taken down multiple times in this game, with one yellow card being awarded to St. Monica. The Mariners defenders played team defense to secure this win. Ultimately, Takahashi did not have enough help to fend off the talented Mariners in this championship game.
Darryl Harvey, SMDP Intern
