By Abisola Adeyemi and Dylan Leverett
In a match between dueling campus soccer clubs, SE Campus beat NE Campus 2-1 with a second-half goal Feb. 27 at L.D. Bell High School’s soccer field.
SE club adviser Jose Velarde said he was pleased with the afternoon.
“It was a good friendly game,” Velarde said. “It went really well, and we’re hoping to do another one around spring break.”
The two teams started off with a very tight defense and ended the first half with the score 1-1. Ashley Flores and Peter Nwaoba scored for SE.
NE student Javier Gonzalez, who’s played with the team since it started in October, scored his team’s one goal.
“It was such an amazing feeling,” he said. “One of my future goals for the next game is to get a hat trick, which is three goals.”
Denise Esqueda, NE team member, said she always encourages her teammates to fight for the ball no matter what.
“If you lose the ball, go back for it,” Esqueda said. “It doesn’t matter the skill. It doesn’t matter if you’re Christiano Ronaldo, [Lionel] Messi or even a 5-year-old. When you see that ball, go back for it. Put your whole body into it, and make sure you fight for that ball.”
NE club president Tai Kapaji and Esqueda started the club. With the rapid growth of members, the club has split into two teams and established a relationship with SE’s club.
“They have a very well-working team with a coach,” Kapaji said. “We do not have a coach. I am just the team president filling in the role.”
Kapaji said not having a coach hasn’t been too bad.
“There are obvious benefits to having a coach, but I’m lucky enough to have team members that help fill that role,” he said. “In fact, many of the players have made invaluable contributions. With or without an official coach, our club has great members who will keep us all working hard.”
Velarde said he liked the fact that plenty of people came out to play.
“Everyone who said they were going to be there was there, and we actually had extra players who were like, ‘If you need me to play, I can play,’” Velarde said.