The Brave News

by Matthew Ruiz

History is in the making for our Bosco soccer team, who has been steamrolling in playoffs on their way to being CIF-SS Finalists. The Braves now set their sights on a CIF-State Title run.

A three-year playoff drought has been lifted with the 2019-2020 Braves soccer team smoking everyone on the road. The Braves first made playoffs by going 16-6-4, and tied fourth in the Trinity League, the Braves made the playoffs as an “at large” team, which is the result of a winning record, defeating teams who are nationally ranked in a tournament in Arizona and having one of the hardest schedules in CIF.

This team has been led by senior captains Diego Camacho, Diego Galvan, Christian Brueggeman and David Veloz. Even in CIF playoffs, the Braves have been successful on the road, traveling to Oxnard and Santa Barbara to get to the championship on Saturday. The Braves went on the road to defeat Hueneme 2-1,  Tesoro 3-0,  Dos Pueblos 3-1 and Pacifica in the semi-finals 1-0 before finally facing Channel Islands in the CIF-SS championship match, where they fell short by a score of 2-1 in a “Golden Goal” overtime period.

The Braves competed tough on Saturday, knowing this would be the hardest challenge yet. Channel Islands had also been defeating teams left and right and have been averaging over 3 goals a game. One thing that the Braves and Channel Island have in common is that Channel Islands head coach is a Bosco alumni.

“Channel Island [was] a very touch and go team. They are very physical and scrappy. We also [had] to make sure we play[ed] quick and watch[ed] out for there counter-attacks,” said assistant coach Sal Perez.

The Braves’ run is a large team effort, not only to make it to the CIF-SS Championship, but also to look to go on and win a CIF-State Championship.

“The team is very well rounded, and we have been through a lot to get to this point. Everybody on the team has played a huge role in getting to this point, and with great leadership and hard work from the seniors and coaches, we have this great opportunity,” said senior David Veloz

The Braves have been chasing a dream that was only a dream up until the win versus Pacifica. The boys have had some ups and downs like losing their last couple of game against Trinity League opponents. Our 18 seniors, continue to go out on the field every practice and every game and grind. For them, success has been built for the past three years, and after coming up short in the 2018-2019 season by missing the playoffs and falling short in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday, the Braves are locked in on a State Championship. It seems that the Braves “revenge tour” has come and that dream is a reality.

The Braves the entire season have been viewed as nothing more than an afterthought. Saturday afternoon, they were going shot for shot against Channel Islands, scoring late in the first half to take the lead 1-0. However, a defensive collapse resulted in a goal for Channel Islands, which result in a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation. They headed to overtime, and Channel Islands was able to score and take home the championship.

The Braves looked crushed, however, all was not lost. The Braves were able to qualify for CIF-State playoffs, and now have their sights set on that. The Braves will continue their strategy to work as one cohesive unit.

“This team has one heart, a heart that beats for each other,” said senior Diego Galvan.

This team has shaped up to be one unit and has turned into a family bond that will never be broken. This team has also tied the school record for most wins in a regular season at 16-wins.

“This team’s Morale has been great. It is great to remind them of the past but not live in the past,” said head coach Dave Sabet.

This afternoon the Braves will take on Rancho Bernardo (San Diego). The Braves want to complete the “Revenge Tour” by bringing home some hardware for the Brave community. It all starts today at 4 pm at Saint John Bosco High School.