As the Los Osos Boys Soccer program starts its second round of the Baseline League, the varsity team is trying to push themselves into the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section playoffs.
In the Baseline League, there are six high schools all competing for the same thing: a league title.
Los Osos, Rancho Cucamonga, Etiwanda, Upland, Damien, and Chino Hills High School all fight during their 10-game-long season to secure a league title, or make playoffs.
The Baseline League is debatably one of the toughest leagues in the Inland Empire, so the road to playoffs is a challenging journey.
The boys’ program has recently been moved up to D1, the highest level in Southern California high school soccer, after their 10-0 season in the 2021-2022 year.
Currently, the varsity squad is sitting at a record of 2-3-1, which puts them in fourth place. However, changes in this league are fast and can happen within one game.
To secure a spot in playoffs, you must place third or higher out of the six teams.
Last season, the boys placed second in the league and made it to the second round of the CIF playoffs, but were defeated by Anaheim High School.
Sophomore Dallas Parchment has been a key contributor to the team’s success. When asked about what steps the team is taking to reach success, Parchment said, “Our team is practicing regularly, focusing on improving our skills, teamwork, and strategy. We’re also analyzing our opponents’ strengths and weaknesses to come up with effective game plans.”
Most of these players are coming from high-level club soccer teams, so skills aren’t the issue. The boys have to build team chemistry in the very short amount of time that they’re given to prepare for the season.
Typically, most high school soccer teams have about two to three weeks of practice before they start playing in tournaments and non-league games. With this short amount of time, it’s hard to know your teammates’ style of play well enough to perform at the team’s full potential.
Juan Garcia, the starting goalkeeper, said, “Building chemistry is something we’ve worked on and still are working on off and on the field…. We do our best to get used to each other’s playing style through the limited time we have during practice and games. We’re still improving in order to reach the playoffs as all of us want to compete.”
Garcia has been playing all four years of his high school career for the Los Osos boys program, and three of those have been on varsity.
He’s been a massive player for the team and holds it down in the back. This year, he’s a captain, and he has taken on the role very well. He takes leadership of the team as the last line of defense and does all he can to prevent goals from being scored against Los Osos.
This group of players is passionate and will be motivated to advance to the playoffs of CIF. With the work they’re putting in, and the determination they have to get there, it wouldn’t be shocking if they did make it.
Playoffs begin February 5 for boys soccer, and we would love to see our team there.