OVERVIEW: Boys’ varsity soccer faced difficulties in the second half of their season, but still kept the team’s impressive legacy alive.
By Skylar Rains, Staff Writer
The Bears started the season with a 13-2-2 record. At their peak, they were ranked the 26th best high school boys’ varsity soccer team in California. They also won the annual Poly Holiday Classic over winter break and took 2nd place in the Norte Vista Tournament during preseason, only to be upstaged by recent CIF champion: Corona High School. In the beginning of league season, the boys earned a 5-0 record. Unfortunately, despite this promising start, the team was less successful in the second half of their season.
Poly ended the 2014 season with a 5-4-3 record, with five wins, four losses and three ties. The team played in the Wildcard round of the CIF Division 1 playoffs but lost 1-0 to Laguna Hills High School.
Even though the team had a challenging season that did not abide by the team’s original expectations, some players took it as an opportunity to shine and lead the team. Coach Alex Figueroa explained: “The key to our success was our defense, led by seniors Mario Padilla and Jesus Meza.” The boys did have some difficulties with their offensive tactics; however, players Ulysses de la Cal (12) and Bryan Magana (12) proved to be very valuable in leading the offense and made a great contribution to the team’s wins.
These four players do have something uniquely impressive in their resume—they were all a part of the varsity team’s 30-game undefeated streak, a very rare feat in the world of soccer. This streak covered all of the 2013 season as well as the first four games of this current season.
Fear not, the Bears’ boys’ varsity soccer is still an intimidating force to be reckoned with. This year’s CIF playoff game marked the 33rd year out of the last 34 that the team qualified, and in that time span the team has won 26 league titles. Regardless of this season’s outcome, all four seniors will be greatly missed, and their individual contributions to the team will have a lasting impact.