Nearly a year to the day of a rain-soaked, first-round playoff exit against El Segundo High School on Feb. 13, 2025, boys’ varsity soccer once again saw its post-season dreams dashed in the opening round, this time with a 2-1 loss in overtime against Fullerton High School in Wildcat Stadium Feb. 11.
“We just couldn’t finish the many opportunities we had,” midfielder Mikael Sandoval (’27) said. “We couldn’t finish our chances and that cost us.”
After placing third with a 3-4-1 record in the Crestview League, the Wildcats secured a spot in the Division 2 bracket against the Golden West league co-champion Red Hawks.
From the opening whistle, both teams traded possessions with few scoring opportunities until midway through the first half.
At the 20-minute mark, the Wildcats offense found some momentum. Sandoval created a goal opportunity, but missed wide-right of the post, and the rebound shot attempt by midfielder Jens Erxleben (‘26) was blocked by the Fullerton goalkeeper.
Six minutes later, the Red Hawks counterattacked, and with sustained pressure in front of the Wildcats’ goal, found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
The Red Hawks maintained their lead throughout the remainder of the first half despite multiple breakthroughs from midfielder Sean Putzeys (‘26) and forwards Anthony Aguirre (‘26) and Jack Penalosa (‘28).
At halftime, the Wildcats adjusted their game plan — stabilize the defense line.
“During first half we had a lot more missed opportunities,” Andres Reynoso (‘28) said, “so in second half we wanted to stay more organized in our defense and clear our balls out.”
The defensive adjustments fueled offensive opportunities in the second half.
In the 50th minute, midfielder Jonas Pearson (‘26) delivered the equalizer. Pearson sent the ball to the top of the box, striking it to the right corner of the crossbar. The ball ricocheted down, then bounced up, spinning into the back of the net.
“It was an absolute rocket of a goal,” midfielder Brandon Wang (‘28) said. “One of the best goals of the season.”
Momentum — and confidence — restored, the Wildcats tightened up defensively, a deliberate adjustment made by head coach JohnPaul Wilson (‘07).
Goalkeeper Ayden Vannerath (‘28), called up from junior varsity to replace Max Sanchez (‘26) who was injured from a hamstring strain, cleared a shot attempt from the Red Hawks.
With the score tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, the teams headed into sudden death overtime. A “golden goal” would send the victor to the second round.
“Either their whole team is running to the corner flag [to celebrate], or us,” Pearson said. “I told the team to not let it be [Fullerton].”
10 minutes into overtime, Jonas nearly delivered another goal, beating two Red Hawks defenders and earning a one-on-one with the keeper in front of the box, but his shot missed wide.
Minutes later, Fullerton responded with a cross into the Wildcats’ box. The ball bounced around in front of the post as the BOHS defense struggled to clear it. In the chaos, the Red Hawks capitalized and slotted the ball to the bottom right corner of the goal.
Wilson said the team’s tactics and line-up adjustments impacted the outcome of the game.
“We have rules for the team to help us play a certain style,” Wilson said. “If we had played a little more to the style, I think we could have won, but doing this in CIF is especially difficult.”
The team’s seven seniors, including Pearson, were disappointed in the outcome, but also proud of their effort.
“I was disappointed to go out that way,” Pearson said, “but we definitely hard-fought all the way into the second half of overtime.”
The loss closed out the Wildcats’ 2025-2026 campaign, which included a 9-6-3 overall record, and a second-straight CIF playoff appearance.
Despite the loss, for the team’s underclassmen, the future is bright.
“We have a lot of sophomores and juniors on varsity, so hopefully the experience helps them learn,” Wilson said. “And next year we [will] improve our overall performance.”
