Joel Serugo recorded a natural hat trick, and Cate romped to a 9-1 win over Orcutt Academy in a first-round match of the CIF Division 6 boys soccer playoffs on Thursday.
Serugo scored the Rams’ first three goals, his first two coming 60 seconds apart in the fifth and sixth minutes.
Cate tore apart Orcutt’s flat-four defensive alignment for six more goals in a 14-minute span in the middle of the game.
Nine different Ram players contributed points in the contest. Geoffrey Acheampong had one goal and three assists; Tyler Douglas had a goal and two assists; Andrew Robbins had two goals; Matthew Firestone had one goal and one assist; Leighton Brillo-Sonnino had two assists; Ryan Borchardt picked up his first goal of the season; Andrew Sinclair picked up an assist — his first of the year — and Iman Fardghassemi had an assist.
“We were energetic from the start, pressuring Orcutt into turnovers and counter-attacking relentlessly,” Cate coach Peter Mack said.
The Rams missed several point-blank chances before Serugo opened the flood gates.
“You’re always a little jittery for that first playoff game, but our guys channeled their energy in really productive ways,” Mack said. “It was a good way to open up CIF play.”
