Men’s varsity soccer outshines Elk Grove

By Kaity Honeychurch,

Though the ball was up in the air, soaring into the tennis court, the game was not. The men’s varsity soccer team, with a record of 8-0 in the Delta Valley Conference easily secured yet another victory, beating Elk Grove 6-0 on Tuesday.

With a game against Franklin on Thursday, the Devils are sailing through their conference on the way to playoffs. The team is using upcoming games to prepare for post-season, however the way senior Ryan Gross has been playing suggests something different: he’s there to put on a show, while still scoring several goals of course.

From Gross’s jump-spin-kick move to his smooth slide tackle at midfield, he had the crowd awed. And when he scored, one header and one tap in across the line, he had the crowd applauding. Gross’s goals within the first 20 minutes gave the Devils an early lead which only strengthened as the game progressed.

When Gross was taken out the start of the second half the game took a turn as other players had their chance.

 Seniors Ben Slavich and Matt Austin took control of the ball, driving up the sideline, crossing and giving others the shots at goal. None were successful. That is, until senior Nassim Lemseffer knocked one in while the goalie fumbled to stand up.

Another goal against Elk Grove was scored by…an Elk Grove player? Senior Jacob Weiss of Davis blasted the ball towards the goal where it slammed into an opposing defender and trickled in.

Gross, back in the game, fell behind the scenes and became the backbone of the team, crossing and sending the ball up the field.

An Elk Grove player, apparently not a fan of Gross, shoved him, yet slipped by with no card. Fellow Elk Grove teammates were not as fortunate as several cards were pulled on them. One player was given a red card for tackling  junior Colin Holtz.

The fouls didn’t faze the Devils though; they kept playing until the whistle blew. “We played well like we’ve been doing. It’s difficult to do that, but they come out here every day and play hard. It’s not that we can’t be beaten, but it’s tough to beat a team that plays hard every game,” varsity head coach Ashley Yudin said.