Friday, in freezing weather, CHS boys’ soccer defeated Thousand Oaks 2-1. Last year, in two games against Thousand Oaks, the Coyotes tied them 2-2 and lost 4-2, making this win a big one. This was also their fifth win in a row, which propelled them to 2nd in the Marmonte League, behind Newbury Park.
Calabasas started the game at kick-off, and within the first few minutes, the Coyotes had multiple offensive chances in the left corner of the field, although none materialized. 5 minutes in, sophomore Eitan Ben-Moshe sent a through ball again into the left side of Thousand Oaks’ half, where senior Elai Sidov sent a cross attempt on goal that resulted in the first corner of the game. Still, Thousand Oaks managed to get out of the situation.
The Lancers would begin to have their first moments of offensive pressure. After a big throw-in 7 minutes in, they’d have their first real shot attempt on goal, which junior goalie Elijah Lopez easily blocked. The next 10 minutes saw end-to-end action for both teams before a Calabasas defensive misplay 21 minutes in gave Thousand Oaks an opportunity on goal, which they took, putting the Lancers up 1-0.
The Coyotes continued to fight throughout the half, including some strong defense and even a yellow card against freshman Leo Vacca. However, going into the second half, they’d have to pull a comeback from the jaws of defeat.
Thousand Oaks started at kick-off, and within 2 minutes, the Coyotes had completed half of the comeback mission. Junior Cooper Jago scored off a Sidov cross from the left wing, tying the game at 1-1. Both teams continued to put pressure on each other before a critical moment 8 minutes in. A Thousand Oaks player hit junior captain Liam Guedalia in the heel and was given a yellow card. The referees stopped play and brought the Calabasas coaches onto the field to check out Guedalia and ensure he was okay. Whenever coaches or trainers are brought onto the field, the player that they step onto the field for must either be substituted out or step off the field for a moment, which resulted in the Coyotes having 10 players for about 2 minutes, not a conclusion that the Coyotes would have preferred.
However, this misunderstanding didn’t greatly impact the Coyotes, as they had multiple offensive chances just a few minutes later, the most notable of them coming after a Thousand Oaks corner. Calabasas collected the ball, and a well-placed through ball from senior Chase Kamara to senior Dean Wilson almost led to a goal, but Thousand Oaks’ goalie stopped the play just in time. Both squads applied more pressure, including a Wilson challenge that led to a Coyote shot and a Thousand Oaks corner.
The game would see its deciding moment with 8 minutes left to go. The Lancers fouled Kamara incredibly close to their own goal, which gave the Coyotes a free kick. After about two minutes of deliberation and waiting, Vacca took the shot and slotted it in the bottom right corner. Calabasas had taken the lead, 2-1. This gave the Coyotes massive amounts of momentum and resulted in them actually playing with the most energy they had all game. The Coyotes and the Lancers would have a few more offensive chances, including a Sidov shot between the uprights and a saved shot from senior Roee Rapaport for the former, and a missed shot attempting to hit the right side of the net for the latter. Eventually, though, the referees blew their whistle, and the game was over.
Even though Calabasas initially struggled against the Lancers in the first half, head coach Elliot Otmani was incredibly happy with his team’s performance.
“The way we were playing was exactly how we wanted to play,” said Otmani. “We didn’t panic because we felt like we were controlling the ball. We felt like we were playing our style.”
The Coyotes will play Thousand Oaks again, this time away, on Monday, January 27th, at 7:15 P.M.
