Cate handled the confinement of playing on a narrow pitch by going to the air. And now the Rams are walking on air as they qualified for their first CIF boys soccer final.
Teddy Mauze, a 6-4 freshman forward, scored two goals on headers in the first 15 minutes to spark No. 1 Cate to a 6-0 win over University Prep in a CIF Division 7 semifinal on Tuesday in Victorville.
“We’re super excited,” Cate coach Dave Mochel said. “The boys couldn’t be more excited. It’s been a pretty exciting season.”
Indeed it has. The Rams will take a 21-0 record into this weekend’s final against second-seeded Mammoth, a 3-2 winner over West Shores of Salton Sea.
Avery Schwartz scored four goals and added an assist as Cate dominated University Prep (21-5).
Schwartz crossed the ball to Mauze for the first goal in the eighth minute. The freshman headed in a long throw-in from his senior brother, Jackson Mauze, for a 2-0 lead in the 15th minute.
Schwartz then took over. He finished a pass from Teddy Mauze in the 23rd minute and made it 4-0 by sprinting to the far post to knock in a blazing low cross from Ema Boateng in the 32nd minute.
The Rams kept running at University Prep in the second half. Leighton Brillo-Sunnino blasted a shot off the goalkeeper and Schwartz pounced on the rebound to record a hat trick in the 57th minute. He scored his fourth goal six minutes later off a long throw from Jackson Mauze.
“We played together and connected on our passes,” said Mochel.
The Rams’ defense, led by center back Joshua Yaro, also played well. Goalkeeper Blake Wands stopped four shots, including a breakaway, to post his 16th shutout.
In addition to advancing to the CIF final, Cate became the first CIF-Southern Section Division 7 school to ever crack the ESPN-Rise national top 25. The Rams are No. 24.
