Cate shook off the holiday rust and a 1-0 deficit, and defeated Oak Park, 2-1, in non-league boys soccer match on Tuesday.
Leighton Brillo-Sonnino scored the tying goal in the first half and Matthew Firestone tallied the game-winner in the second half.
“Although we were out of sync for much of the game, which I mostly chalk up to our long vacation, I am impressed with the way we bounced back from our early deficit against a good, physical Oak Park team,” Cate coach Peter Mack said. “We might not have been at the top of our game, but we showed a ton of resolve and grit in manufacturing a very good win. We forced the Oak Park keeper into 15 saves.”
The Rams played without injured star midfielder Geoffrey Acheampong.
The long lay off and the absence of Acheampong revealed itself in the early going as Oak Park pounced on a Cate mistake 14 minutes in and took a quick 1-0.
The Rams regrouped and got the tying goal when Brillo-Sonnino took a pass in the box from Firestone, turned and fired a shot that left the Eagles keeper.
Cate played with more energy and composure in the second half and began to put relentless pressure on the Eagles defenders. The winning goal came when Firestone collected a long pass out of the back from Abraham Tall, carried the ball past a defender and hit a rocket past the charging keeper and into the opposite corner.
Keller Mochel turned in a solid game in goal for the Rams, registering 11 saves.
The win moves Cate to 2-2-1 on the year — all against much larger schools in higher divisions.
