GAME PREVIEW (Updates below): Cate’s boys soccer team, which returns most of its star players from last year’s CIF Division 7 championship team, plays host to JSerra, the top-ranked team in Division 1.
Cate (1-1) just lost its first game of the season yesterday in a 4-3 setback to Pacifica while JSerra has also lost already this season.
But the high-profile high school soccer match brings together a rare matchup of nationally ranked prep soccer teams. Cate is No. 24 and JSerra No. 10 according to ESPN’s Powerade Fab 50.
Find in-game updates below. CLICK HERE for a game story and video highlights.
FINAL: Final whistle blows and Cate pockets a 2-0 victory over the current No. 1 team in CIF Southern Section’s top division. Cate, the No. 1 team in Division VII, rebounds after its first loss of the season on Friday and improves to 2-1. JSerra falls to 4-3. Jeffrey Acheampong and Ema Boateng score unassisted goals for Cate in the first half. Game story and postgame video interviews to follow on PresidioSports.com.
29 MINUTES INTO SECOND HALF: Ema Boateng whistled and handed a yellow card for a reckless tackle. Cate still leads 2-0 with their defensive back and defensive midfield really holding the JSerra attack at bay.
20 MINUTES INTO SECOND HALF – Game has turned into a bit of a midfield battle with only Cate’s Avery Shwartz getting a decent scoring opportunity in the first 20 minutes of the second half.
START OF SECOND HALF – Same starting lineup for Cate as the Rams come out for the second half looking to hold on to their 2-0 lead. If the Rams hold on, JSerra would fall to 4-3 on the season.
35th MINUTE: Cate scores again, this time by returning Division VII player of the year Ema Boateng. The junior took a shot that was blocked right back to him. His second shot didn’t miss as the Rams take a 2-0 lead before halftime. Cate looking like the much better team so far.
22nd MINUTE: Cate takes 1-0 lead as Jeffrey Acheampong scores off a high-pressure steal, blasting a shot from 18 yards out. The unassisted goal comes after Cate has controlled possession for much of the game so far. An estimate of 150 people are watching the game from the sidelines at Cate School in Carpinteria, CA.
15 MINUTES INTO FIRST HALF: Cate has had a number of quality chances in the first 15 minutes but has not been able to finish. Joshua Yaro put a header on target in the 6th minute to no avail, then a throw-in by Yaro found Ema Boateng in the box. Boateng’s header bounced off the crossbar. Cate freshman Jeffrey Acheampong took a rebound and fired a shot near post that went just wide. In the 13th minute, Avery Shwartz was 1-on-1 with JSerra keeper who made a great save.
KICKOFF: Game has started about 10 minutes early because the two teams didn’t want to play in the fading light later in the afternoon. Cate is wearing blue jerseys with no numbers while JSerra is wearing all black with red numbers.
