The Bear Cubs finished the 2014 regular season on a high note, earning a 5-0 win, and overtaking division foe Cosumnes River College in the standings to end the season.
Though the focus is now on the playoffs, the Cubs will use this win as a stepping stone for what they hope is a deep playoff run.
The Bear Cubs got on the board extremely early, with an Omar Nuño goal hitting the net before 120 seconds had passed off of the clock.
From that point, the Bear Cubs didn’t look back.
Julio Ortiz netted the games second goal in the 26th minute, and Ivan Barba responded with a goal of his own in the 32nd minute.
The Bear Cubs led 3-0 at the half, and never took their foot off of the gas.
The second half started with what seemed like an offensive lull in comparison to their first half performance, but the Cubs continued to roll in the 67th minute.
After a promising attack from the Bear Cubs was thwarted, they were awarded a corner kick.
In the 67th minute, Julio Ortiz put a perfectly placed ball on the head of Victor Calderon, who headed the ball over the outstretched arms of Cosumnes’ keeper for a 4-0 lead.
In the 72 minute, the Bear Cubs added one more goal for good measure.
Omar Nuño took a beautiful ball upfield and converted the game’s fifth goal with a beautiful strike past the keepers right arm. The keeper had no time to react to the shot, a perfect encapsulation of the Consumnes defensive performance for the game.
The big win had the players in high spirits. “Getting a big win like that against a team in our division is huge for us, ” said freshman defenseman Dontae Garcia. “It really gives a boost of confidence heading into the playoffs.”
Following an early exit from the playoffs in 2013, the Bear Cubs want to start off on the right foot in the regional playoffs, which start Nov. 22.
“We are in a very different position in the playoffs this year,” Garcia said. “We held a high seed last year and we’re closer to the bottom of the bracket this year. We will really need to focus on coming out and sticking it to whoever we end up playing in the first round this year.”
With a little more than a week to prepare, the Bear Cubs will he more than ready for their first round matchup.