Dons achieve historic season

After the Aragon boys soccer team (16-5-5 overall, 6-1-3 Peninsula Athletic League) won its first ever Central Coast Section Division I Championship on Feb. 26, the team fell 3-0 to Patterson (22-1-1 overall, 12-0 Central California Conference) in the California Interscholastic Federation NorCal Boys Soccer Championships Division III finals on March 5.
“We knew that in any final there’s always going to be a good team and we know that they lost in their last final,” said junior winger Arav Agarwal. “They wouldn’t want to do that again. They were going to come back strong and fierce so we just had to be prepared.”

The game started out with steady back and forth from both teams as strong defense from both teams stopped any potential threats. Due to the Patterson players’ size and height, they were able to create more chances to pressure the Dons effectively. Ten minutes into the first half, the Tigers grazed the crossbar with a shot to turn the game’s momentum.
“We were expecting them to come with a lot of energy,” said senior co-captain and midfielder Brendan Sinclair. “It was clear from the start that they were committed.”

Senior co-captain and forward Alexis Villanueva led the offense with several shots against Patterson, many of which barely missed the goal. Patterson’s offense was able to break through Aragon’s defenders and score a goal with nine minutes left in the half.

Although Aragon missed the opportunity to have the first goal, the Dons continued to put pressure on Patterson’s defenders. With only a few minutes left in the half, an Aragon shot hit the upper post and deflected off the football field goal right in front of senior striker Kevin Marroquin, and he was able to put the ball in the back of the net. Unfortunately, the goal was overruled by refs due to the technical issue of the field goal deflection.
“I think giving up that goal was a major disadvantage, obviously, because we had to start pushing forward,” Sinclair said.

As the first half came to an end, Patterson raced down to Aragon’s goal and had a close miss blocked by senior goalkeeper Brandon Marroquin. Beginning the second half, Patterson became aggressive, garnering yellow cards from their fouls. Aragon received several free kicks, giving the team the opportunity to get the ball within the box. Patterson defenders, however, effectively blocked the Dons’ scoring opportunities.

As Aragon grew tired with the relentless push of Patterson’s offense, Patterson was able to navigate through defenders more easily and ended up gaining its second goal midway through the second half.

After the second goal, Aragon came back with more energy and was able to fend off the Patterson offenders. However, in the final three minutes of the game, Patterson took advantage of a corner kick and scored with a header. Although Aragon never stopped trying to score, Patterson’s defense was solid, making it difficult for the Dons to make shots. The game ended in a 3-0 loss for the team.

Although this game marks the end of the Dons’ season, the team has made a memorable mark in Aragon sports history as the first ever boys soccer team at Aragon to win CCS in its 52-year-long history, defeating Alisal High School (16-4-2 overall, 7-3 Pacific Coast Athletic League) 2-0 in the CCS Division I Championships.
“[It’s] amazing to win [CCS] at home,” said head coach Joe Rousseau. “It was almost like it was meant to be with this group of kids and to be able to host all the way to the finals.”

The players were also thrilled about their historic achievement.
“It [was] kind of like a dream come true,” said senior co-captain and midfielder Wilson Duan. “It’s everything you could ever want out of the season.”

Goals by Villanueva and Kevin Marroquin secured the Dons the CCS victory.
“One of the key assets to how we win is definitely our communication, something that Joe stresses a lot,” Duan said. “The captains, [senior goalie] Taj [Gadiraju] and defenders … do a lot of talking to organize us both on defense and offense … so that we follow the game plan and don’t let in goals.”

The Dons attribute their CCS victory to determination and community support.
“Each player stepped up and did their part,” Gadiraju said. “Even everyone on the sidelines, the people who didn’t get to play today and everyone who came out to support. I feel like I could hear everyone cheering for us, [which] allowed us to push ourselves more [and] got us hyped up. It wasn’t just one individual that stepped up; it was everyone.”

On top of winning CCS, the Dons were the first boys soccer team to win the PAL Bay Division two years in a row and were undefeated for 15 matches straight, before losing in finals. An early season loss shaped the rest of the season for the team, playing a pivotal role in its undefeated streak. In their first league game of the season against Burlingame (13-2-4 overall, 6-1-3 PAL), the Dons lost 4-1. After a long team talk, the Dons were able to improve their performance.

“We started coming to practice with a different mindset: to work harder, to be more dedicated, and that set the tone for all the games past that,” Duan said. “From that moment on, we went undefeated. We had some ties here and there, but we never lost.”

The Dons’ mentality and consistent focus helped the team achieve success.
“Ever since that Burlingame game where we [lost] 4-1, we changed focus and we had a talk as a team,” Villanueva said. “We told ourselves, ‘We’re gonna win league and we’re gonna try and go for CCS.’”

Last season, the Dons also had a successful run, winning the PAL and placing in the higher CCS Open Division instead of Division I. In its first playoff game, Aragon lost 5-1 to Bellarmine College Preparatory, the reigning Open Division champions who have made finals 25 times — winning 21 CCS championships in the top divisions.
“If we were in Division I last year, I have no doubt that we would have won Division I just like we did this year,” Duan said.

The team grew in confidence and camaraderie throughout the season.
“As an individual, I was trying to motivate the team as a captain and not just a captain, but as a friend,” Villanueva said. “We’re like a big family now and we all treat each other like brothers.”

The Dons’ historic season highlighted standout players. Villanueva led the team’s offensive success with 16 goals, 15 assists and 70 shots. Kevin Marroquin ended the season with 15 goals, and junior midfielder Brenden Pineda had the second most assists on the team, finishing the season with seven assists. The team is looking to continue its success next season with a new generation of players.