The Acalanes Freshman Dons (8-0) notched a commanding 6–0 home win over College Park on Saturday, overcoming a physical early stretch before asserting control and never looking back.
The Dons weathered a slow, back-and-forth opening marked by aggressive midfield play from College Park, with the visitors’ goalkeeper turning aside a pair of early chances, including a nice look from striker Nick Siewert (#15) after intercepting a goal kick.
The breakthrough came 15 minutes into the first half. After a foul at midfield, Jonny Rubin (#9) quickly restarted play from the 50, lofting a perfectly weighted ball over the defense to right winger Mason Foster (#11). Foster fought through a hard challenge, got a foot on the ball, and pushed it past the keeper to open the scoring. Foster exited shortly after following the heavy contact, but his goal set the tone.
“I made eye contact with Mason right after the foul,” said Rubin after the match. “I gave him a quick nod to head to the goal. He did a great job finishing.”
Acalanes continued to press, earning free kicks and living in the College Park side. Just before halftime, winger Ben Ferber (#8) controlled the ball in the right corner and delivered a perfect cross to left-footed Calder Williamson (#13), who sly finished to make it 2–0 at the break.
The second half picked up right where the first left off, with Acalanes in firm control. Corners and headers came in waves, narrowly missing as the Dons kept the pressure on. Left winger Keegan Aldridge (#7) began to take over, using nifty footwork to create space and generate chances. A few moments after Aldridge missed wide right on a sneaky play, Rubin slipped a through ball to Aldridge on the left side. Aldridge drove a low liner under the goalkeeper’s arms to make it 3–0.
The Dons were just getting started.
Defender Tyler Anderson (#14) sent a ball from the midfield to a streaking Siewert, who calmly controlled and finished for the fourth goal. Moments later, Siewert struck again, heading home a corner from Rubin for his second goal of the day and 11th of the season.
The final goal capped the dominant performance. Rubin fired a shot on goal that ricocheted to James Ammerman (#16), who calmly booted it into the net. It marked Rubin’s fourth assist of the game and eighth of the season.
The back line once again held firm, with stellar play from Matt Roberts, Logan Lewis (#10), Gibran Khan (#6), Owen Lee (#18), and Kacper Zarzycki (#5) preserving the clean sheet.
For his dynamic second-half performance and impact on both sides of the ball, the team voted Keegan Aldridge as “Man of the Match.”
Eight matches in, the Dons remain perfect and continue to look every bit like a team built for a special season. Next up, the freshman squad will face cross-town rivals Campolindo at home on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 4pm. Go Dons. #Donshowup
