The562’s soccer coverage for the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Beach Futbol Club.
The562’s coverage of Millikan athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Curtis Boyer.
The562’s coverage of Cabrillo Athletics is sponsored by the Cohn Family.
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity, and Millikan was prepared to take every chance Cabrillo gave up in a 3-0 Rams win at home on Friday night in this “El Clásico” Moore League boys’ soccer rivalry.
“This is a great confidence boost for all of us,” Millikan senior David Villanueva said. “It means a lot to us. (Cabrillo’s Martin Robles Ruiz) was talking about how they’re the best offense in the league, and we put three on them, so I’m thinking we’re the best offense in the league right now.”
Villanueva scored first for Millikan in the 15th minute before an own goal and Juan Vasquez’ goal capped the scoring in the last seven minutes of the first half.
“These guys have been excited for league to start and we started off well on the front foot,” Millikan coach Jeff Schofield said. “We’re fast and athletic and pressing other teams is a big part of our style. When we’re creating turnovers that’s going to be good for us.”
Millikan (6-2-1, 1-0-0) outshot Cabrillo 15-7 while being the aggressor, and 10 of those Rams shots came in the first half while Millikan goalkeeper Riley Cabarles only needed a pair of saves for a clean sheet.
Both teams traded early set piece opportunities before Millikan’s goal scoring corner kick in the 15th minute when Jacob Chavez sent it in for Villanueva to send home. Villanueva had four consecutive shots for Rams in the first half, including the goal.
“Playing with these guys gets me motivated and I love them,” Villanueva said. “The work ethic out here has changed and we’re going to be that boy on the block again.”
“He’s a really good player with really good speed and he’s super motivated,” Schofield said of Villanueva. “He’s one of our captains and he wants to end his career successfully.”
Millikan kept the pressure on and scored again in the 33rd minute when Cabrillo (7-2-1, 1-1-0) committed a sloppy foul. Nathan Farkhondeh teed up the set piece from about 30 yards out and it was headed in by the Jaguars defense. Two minutes before halftime, Vasquez pounced on a Cabrillo miscue to cap the scoring.
“The third one hurt us mentally,” Cabrillo coach Pat Noyes said. “We had a bad half and we haven’t had many this year. We didn’t play hard enough in the first half and we gave up some mistakes.”
“Every little thing counts and every little mistake they make counts and we just have to counter that and go,” Villanueva said. “That’s what we’re going to do all season.”
Millikan has another massive league game at home on Monday against defending league champion Wilson.
“It’ll be about us imposing our style on the game with the high press, connecting passes quickly and attacking quickly with the assets we have up front,” Schofield said of his team’s strategy moving forward.
Cabrillo will also play Wilson on Wednesday.
