Acalanes Dons freshman opened their home schedule on Saturday with a dominant 6-0 victory over Emerald High School, powered by David Penn, who was named “Man of the Match.” The midfielder who’s earned the nickname “The Machine” led the charge with two goals, an assist, and nonstop pressure that set the tone for a complete team performance as the Dons improved to 2-0 on the season.

The first goal came 13 minutes into the game when striker Nick Siewart controlled a cross from Luke Fratarcangeli, settled it cleanly, and fired a laser into the top right corner. Two minutes later, Acalanes doubled the lead off a corner that bounced through the box and squirted out to “The Machine”, who buried it for his first goal of the match and season.

Acalanes kept the pressure on as the half wound down, forcing Emerald’s goalkeeper into several acrobatic saves. With a minute remaining, striker Ben Ferber controlled a corner and slammed home the Dons’ third goal for a 3-0 halftime advantage. 

The second half opened in identical fashion. Right winger Mason Foster picked the pocket of the Emerald defense, cut back sharply, and crushed his first goal top bins, past the outstretched Emerald keeper. 

While the offense kept rolling, the defense stood firm like a brick wall. Center back Logan Lewis anchored a back line of Makai Ramsey, Luke Fratarcangeli, Tyler Anderson, Gibran Khan, and Owen Lee that snuffed out every Emerald advance.

With 24 minutes left, Siewart drew a penalty in the box and “The Machine” stepped up, calmly converting his second goal of the day. Moments later, Penn stole a pass outside the box and slid a perfect feed to Siewart for the final strike of the match. 

When the final whistle blew, the scoreboard read 6-0. 

Next up for the freshman squad is a home rematch against Dougherty Valley High at 4pm Thursday, Dec. 11. Go Dons!