To this very day, the Cate Boys’ Varsity Soccer team remains one of the most impressive teams on the Mesa. This quick and outrageously talented company of young athletes has left every field with satisfied grins painted across their faces, fists up in the air in a confident manifestation of their accumulated victories.
The CIF Winter Season possesses a rather unfortunate assortment of dates, particularly for Cate student-athletes. Beginning in mid-November–already odd, given that November is definitely an Autumn month but no matter–, the Boys’ Varsity Soccer team barely had scarce two weeks before they were shipped off back home for Fall Break. By November’s end, they returned to campus with just enough time to absolutely demolish Nordhoff in their first home game of the season with a 3-0 win. The Rams quickly showed dominance in the first minute of the game as Kiy Barry (Winger, ‘26) assisted Uriel Beltran Campuzano (Midfielder, ‘25) in a header straight past the Rangers’ goalie. Not quite a week later, the boys traveled up the 101 to Bishop Diego for the first Tri-Valley League match, ultimately returning to the Mesa with a decisive 3-0 victory against the Cardinals. In the days before Winter Break, the Rams felt the epitome of satisfaction and pride; there is nothing quite like crushing a toad. Nothing quite like flattening a toad under rampant hooves and a 3-1 victory.
Following a three-week holiday hiatus, the Boys’ Soccer Team showed their determination to maintain a winning streak for the remainder of the season. Varsity Coach Jorge Reynoso proudly describes the “beautiful and chilly afternoon on the Mesa” as his team treated the Grace Lancers to a crisp 7-0 match, in spite of several senior losses due to injury. In the two games that followed, the Rams crushed both the Foothill Tech and Bishop Diego teams. On the 18 January, the boys experienced a cold slice of frustration with a side of angst in their first match against the Dunn Earwigs. Both teams played a “fast and physical game” but nevertheless saw a 0-0 draw at the conclusion of the match, even after the first overtime of the season. Reynoso spoke of the reliable grit and unity of his soccer team and that in spite of the final tie, there was true effort and talent that adhered to the “brand” of Ram soccer. The team persisted in such effort, earning them happy victories in the following two games.
The Cate Boys Varsity Soccer Team concluded the regular season in the final few days of January as they ventured into the far northern regions of the olive groves, and faced once more the treacherous Dunn Earwigs. As Reynoso accurately remarked, “Playing Dunn always brings out the best in our team.” The game was hotly contested, both teams playing intense offense and ending with a melancholy 1-2 loss; the first loss of the entire season. They continue their successes in the CIF Playoffs in the second and third weeks of February. Keep supporting, Ram Fam!
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