My Heart is beating out of my chest as I prepare for one of the biggest games of my life at stake: Division Four CIF championship for Etiwanda High school. Something that has never been accomplished before in school history and my team and I have the opportunity to rewrite the script and prove everyone wrong. Little did we know that at the beginning of the 2023- 2024 Boys Varsity soccer season we would go on to accomplish everything we set our minds to.
At the start of the season skepticism would arise how the strength of our squad would be this season from losing eight seniors last year to having a very young squad full of juniors and two seniors. With that being said, our boys varsity program isn´t very well acknowledged and known for their success throughout the season and throughout CIF if they qualified. Year by year always falling short to qualify for CIF and to compete for Baseline league championship.
Desperate for a change we all came together as a unit and set our goals and ambitions for the 2023-2024 season and set our plan of attack in order to achieve these goals and ambitions. We all came to the conclusion that we wanted to win Baseline League for the first time since 1998 and go on to compete for a spot in CIF little did we know we would go on to exceed these expectations. With our goals in mind we knew we needed to roll up our sleeves and put our heads down and get to work. We knew coming into season it wasn't going to be easy. We knew we had to put in the extra work to see the results we wanted. This lit up a fire in the team creating a competitive, disciplined, accountable environment where we all pushed each other to get better overall creating a stronger bond amongst brothers that we knew that could not be broken even when challenged with adversity. I still remember that cold January night with a slight breeze in the air. Our first league game was against former Baseline league champions Chino Hills, a great match up for us to test our team discipline and work rate offensively and defensively. Tension filled the air and the atmosphere as we kicked off the start of the season. At the end of the full 90 minutes against Chino Hills we were tied at 0-0 our bodies were fatigued and sore as sweat ran down our faces as we prepared for the next twenty minutes of overtime mentally and physically fatigue. The team and I searched deep down and remembered what we are working towards. In the last five minutes of overtime our team scored in golden goal to deliver us the win over former Baseline league champions. As excitement and joy overfilled our emotions we knew this was only the beginning of something great.
Coming off a dramatic win this would only set the tone for the rest of the season. Sticking to our roots and our plan we would go undefeated in league with an 8-0-2 record something that hasn't been accomplished since 1998. We knew our job wasn't finished coming into CIF. We spent countless hours on and off the pitch studying game analysis of our opponent and preparing for what to expect. We would win our first round of CIF 4-0 against Canyon High school, then go on to beat Troy High School 1-0. Pumped up after this victory we collected our heads and remained diligent because our next opponent was Jurupa Hills High school. We would go on to beat them 1-0 as well. Having never gone so far into CIF nerves and anxiety filled my body knowing that one loss could end our season. I knew I had to control myself and not worry because I´ve been playing this beautiful game my whole life. Coming into the semifinals against Paramount I turned my nerves into excitement which turned out to be amazing. I was buzzing all around the pitch and that excitement and joy radiated off to my teammates. Once again we would go on to win our game against Paramount 1-0. Something that has never been done before in school history was about to go down Etiwanda vs Lakewood in the CIF finals. A tense game was understating fans at the edge of their seats as we prepared to go into CIF final penalties after a scoreless 120 minutes of competitive soccer .The beams of the headlights shining down on the pitch onto the pitch as both teams sent out their five to take penalties. Etiwanda first up to take the penalty we score 1-0, Lakewood makes their way to the spot and they score 1-1 tied penalty shoot out. Etiwanda up at the spot and cool as like we slotted it away making it 2-1 on penalties. Lakewood made their way back to the PK spot and slotted it home making it 2- 2 on penalties. I was the third pk taker as I made the long walk to the pk spot . I felt my heart beating out of my chest as I heard both sides of the fans booing and cheering at the sametime. I felt the pressure of the situation arise as I made my way to the penalty spot. I take a deep breath and relax my body remembering my technique three steps back and two steps to the left as I run up to the ball and feel my foot make contact with the ball. I knew it was a great hit. With the keeper diving in the right direction the ball was placed perfectly in the bottom left corner where the keeper had no chance of reaching it. As I raised my arms in the air pumping and hyping up the crowd while walking back to greet my teammates I could only wait and have complete trust in my teammates to finish the job. Lakewood responded and scored their PK making it 3-3. Etiwanda back up at the Pk spot and scored once again 4-3 Lakewood not giving into the pressure would respond right back making 4-4. As my teammate Thevan was stepping up to take the fifth penalty he was cool as can be feeling no pressure like it was another shot at training and slots it bottom right corner. As Lakewood prepared to send their fifth penalty taker to the spot I could tell the pressure had got to them the player was shaking while walking up to the spot. As he went to strike the ball he hit the crossbar and went out of bounce. Surrounded by my brothers at that moment tears of joy streamed down my eyes as I celebrated not only our success but our discipline, workrate , and attitude along the way. For the first time in Etiwanda Boys Soccer History we accomplished the unthinkable becoming Division Four CIF champions.
This season is so memorable in my life because I learned so much throughout the process and the season but my main take away from this season is when you truly put your mind towards something you can achieve it through relentless hard work, diligence, and discipline. As well as having a support system that lifts you up during the highs and especially lows of your journey, whoever that may be yourself,friends, or family. I will carry what I learned from this season for the rest of my life and apply it to whatever goal or task is ahead of me. Having this mindset will allow me to achieve my goals whatever they may be at the moment. As well as teaching this lesson to my fellow peers and being their support system if they are struggling. Just remember if you truly want something or want to change for the better, fully commit yourself towards that task or goal while also applying hard work, diligence , and discipline.
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