Rams ready for playoffs

By Matthew Gomez
Staff writer

The City College Rams men’s soccer team is heading to the playoffs after defeating Skyline College 2-0 on Nov. 13 at Crocker Amazon Fields.

The Rams finished their regular season with a 14-2-5 record, and fell one game short of winning their third consecutive conference championship. They will start their march towards a state championship on Nov. 21 against [insert opponent].

“Defensively we’ve been doing well all season,” head coach Adam Lucarelli said.

“The way you practice is the way you play,” assistant coach Alejandro Uribe added. “We haven’t changed anything.”

This philosophy helped the Rams the entire season. The team has the second-lowest allowed goals in the state.

Skyline was frustrated throughout the game as the Rams controlled play and had Skyline on their heels. While they struggled to score until late in the second half, the Rams didn’t give Skyline many opportunities to score.

Skyline forward Andrew Heuer and defender Kevin Wright drew yellow cards for rough play, and Dylan Crist was ejected from the match.

After several missed shots from set plays and breakaways, Rams midfielder Jesus Hernandez finally scored. He snuck the ball into the bottom right corner past Skyline goalkeeper Eugene Graziani on a set play from the top of the box.

“I placed the shot there because I saw Graziani was favoring the left side,” Hernandez said.

A few minutes later, Rams forward Nick Keane headed the ball past Graziani off a cross from defender Jorge Ramirez. The Rams had enough room to relax with a two-goal lead.

“We’ve been looking forward to the playoffs,” Hernandez said. “We’re not seeded as high this year, but there will not be as much pressure on the team, so we can focus more on the game.”

State playoffs are single elimination, and the Rams know they can’t afford to sleepwalk in this situation.

“In one minute you can lose,” Uribe said. “That’s why you’ve got to stay focused the whole 90 minutes. We’re ready for everything.”