By Ray Hamill — With the league championship secured, the Arcata boys soccer team will now turn its attention to the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs.
And with a lingering feeling of unfinished business from a year ago, the Tigers will be hoping to win a first-ever section championship for the program and end a seven-year title drought for the H-DNL.
The brackets and seeds will be released this coming weekend and the Tigers will likely get a first-round bye before opening their postseason campaign at home in eight or nine days times.
And head coach John Davidson believes his players are up for the challenge and confident they can compete with the best teams from around the section.
“Now is the time to give it one big last push,” he said. “We’re definitely trying to pick it up a notch and get in fourth gear in training and keeping our focus on the fact we’re not done yet.
“I think the team is up for it. They’ve had a long season but I think they’re up for one last push.”
Twelve months ago the Tigers came very close to winning an historic first-ever NCS crown, but lost 4-0 in the Division-1 championship game to Head-Royce, which has won two of the last four section titles.
Getting that far was an achievement in itself, but the Arcata boys felt they should have done better that day and it’s something that will likely give the players a little extra motivation in the coming weeks.
Davidson admits they did not play their best game that day, and while he says it was a great experience it is also something that is fueling the team’s desire to break that drought this year.
“We’re just staying focused on the process and doing the best we can,” the coach said “That’s all we can do is prepare our best. There’s an element of luck involved, and luck is when preparation and opportunity come together.”
The players have certainly taken full advantage of their preparation and opportunities thus far, dropping just one game in a very competitive league and securing a second straight title with a game to spare.
They clinched the title outright with a 4-0 win over rival Eureka on an emotional Senior Day on Saturday.
“It was so gratifying this year because of the work the players put in,” Davidson said. “After winning the league I can speak for all of us when I say it really was the process of trying we all love so much.
“When you collectively as a group work hard to achieve something, that’s a result in itself.”
The five seniors on this year’s team all played a pivotal role on the path to success.
The senior trio of Andy Aguilar, Quinn McSorley and Isaac Ingram helped set the tone on defense and provided a rock-solid platform for the team’s success.
“They were very, very impressive and consistent,” Davidson said of that trio. “And they’re humble players.”
Fellow seniors Victor Vega and Elijah Brooks also made big contributions in attack.
“Victor Vega also had a tremendous season,” the coach added of the left winger and team captain along with Ingram and influential junior Dakota Grosveld. “And Elijah Brooks has been our star recently, coming off the bench and giving us some huge minutes.
“He kept working and took advantage of his minutes, and it’s really started to show in the last three or four games.
“All the seniors really impressed me with how much they stepped up this year. I’m so proud of them all.”
The seniors’ collective approach to the season and leadership was invaluable in such a competitive campaign.
And it paid huge dividends, with the whole roster buying in and following their lead.
“It was a competitive league,” Davidson said. “And I think we worked very hard and were really focused on improving every game and every training session and focused on the process of what was in the now and in front of us.
“And in the end it fell in our favor.”
Hopefully for the Tigers, the NCS playoffs will as well.
The last H-DNL team to win a boys NCS crown was Fortuna in 2019.
