The Dons (1-5 overall, 1-3 Peninsula Bay League) took down the Bearcats (0-6 overall, 0-6 PBL) 23-5.
In just over a minute after the sprint-off, sophomore right and left flat Lorenzo Vasquez scored the first goal of the game on Aragon’s behalf.
Soon after the play reset, San Mateo lost control over the ball due to incomplete and inaccurate passes. Junior right wing Nick Lee followed up on a breakaway with no defenders and scored.
Towards the beginning of the game, San Mateo had already shown little effort for the ball. Not all of the players were pressing and staying on their player when necessary. This led to a series of seven goals positioning Aragon with a 7-1 lead within the first five minutes of the game.
Just after Lee’s goal, junior set Peter Martin quickly scored another. Vasquez followed with another goal in under five minutes. Three more goals then followed within the next three minutes.
With Aragon’s sophomore goalie Kelton King missing, head coach Carly Demarchena alternated between junior hole-set Barsam Shokri Niri and Vasquez in the goal.
“I play set-D as my main position and I think I was pretty prepared for it but obviously not as much as our main goalie,” Niri said.
Even with little experience, the impromptu goalies were very capable of delivering long and accurate passes out to the wings.
Further into the game, the Bearcats managed to score their second goal using the element of surprise. Within seconds after the play began, San Mateo took a shot and scored from the halfway mark.
By halftime, the Dons were leading 16-3. The plays were beginning to turn a little messy on both the team’s behalf. With only two substitutes to San Mateo’s five, Aragon still managed to dominate the rest of the game.
“We have already been through a lot of conditioning this year and I think it’s actually better that we’re not subbing out so that we get better for next year,” Lee said.
Demarchena agrees that there are both benefits and disadvantages to having two substitutes.
“It’s tough because they’re exhausted towards the end, but everyone likes more playing time,” Demarchena said.
The Dons managed to utilize their “sine and cosine” play designed by Demarchena, who is also a math teacher.
“It’s just when someone drives in and sets a picks on the defensive person. The hole set pops out and shoots from outside…It took us 15 tries but we did it,” Demarchena said.
Sophomore Aidan Reid managed at least two goals past the 5 meter zone.
Following the blowout, the Dons are set to play the Cherokees (8-3 overall, 7-1 PAL) on Oct. 4.
