Brandon Sugarman scored two goals, and Cate pressured Nordhoff all afternoon for a 3-1 victory in a Tri-Valley League boys soccer match Wednesday in Ojai.
The Rams outshot Nordhoff 18-6 and put several dangerous balls into the penalty area.
“The score isn’t indicative of how much of the game was played in Nordhoff’s half of the field,” Cate coach Peter Mack said. “Our midfield did a superb job of keeping the Rangers from stringing together more than two passes at a time. We came out of the gate the right way today and rarely had any lapses in our focus. It was a good 80 minutes of soccer from us.”
Cate scored its first goal in the 22nd minute, when Geoffrey Acheampong’s hard cross was deflected into the goal by a Nordhoff player. The second goal was a beauty. Sugarman took a Acheampong pass off his chest, split two defenders and beat the goalkeeper with a shot into the lower left corner.
Sugarman put the game away by finishing a crossing ball from Iman Fardghassemi.
Cate improves to 7-2-1 on the season and 4-1 in league, tied for first place with Carpinteria.
The Rams host Santa Paula on Friday.
