Miramonte gave the JV Boys soccer team all they could handle for 62 minutes of match play, but Acalanes scored 2 late 2nd half goals to put away the Matadors 2-0 in Orinda. The Dons almost let Miramonte get on the scoresheet early as a Matador midfielder found their right wing on an inside run straight at goal but Jackson Hink got a hand on the point blank shot and put it over the crossbar. Realizing Miramonte came to play, Acalanes took control by relying on their short passing game allowing midfielders Zack Roder, Ethan Wilberts and Jeremy Lara to dictate the pace and find creases in the defense for runs by Frosh player Luke Wilson, Dylan Machado and Jack Sutherland. Meanwhile, the defense led by Ryan Baity and Frosh player Aiden Parnell kept Miramonte at bay. With about 4 minutes left in the first half Lara and Wilson combined on a clever give and go. Wilson made a smart pass back to Lara who lobbed a nice ball into the box for Sutherland which would have been a spectacular goal if not for an aware play by the Miramonte keeper. A follow up by Jeong almost got the deserved score, but again, the Matador goalie refused to let it through. Minutes later, Zack Roder received a ball from Leong at the top of the box and just missed beating the keeper at the right post from 25 yards out. In the 2nd half, the Dons again focused on possession moving the ball forward and resetting when the opportunity did not present itself. The next scoring opportunity came off of a perfectly placed 35 yard on the ground pass from Jeremy Lara to Jack Sutherland who did get some contact while trying to shoot in the penalty box, but no call. You could feel it coming and the Dons broke through with 7:30 remaining when Dylan Machado switched the field of play from left to right with a long pass to Frosh player Santiago Vignoles. Santi found Zack Roder in the box and followed up his initial blocked cross to find a wide open Jack Sutherland who calmly chested the ball and volleyed a strong shot right in front of a Miramonte defender to break the deadlock. The Dons weren’t done. The Matadors desperate for a tying score pushed everyone up on a free kick and paid the price as the Dons long pass specialist Ethan Wilberts found Vignoles breaking free on a counter taking it the distance and putting a well placed shot past the keeper and the 2-0 victory was sealed. This was a true team win with great contributions from our Frosh guest players Aidan Parnell, Luke Wilson, Santiago Vignoles and Max Westen (Keeper).