Twelve days ago, Oakland Military Institute won 6-0 in Napa and handed Saint Maximilian Catholic School their fourth defeat in five games. The Crusaders have not lost since. They have not conceded either: three wins, eight goals scored and none against. Today they host OMI again, in their final home game of the season and on Senior Night.
They do it without their starting goalkeeper, who will be unavailable for the rest of the season. That is a hard loss for a school with only 18 high school boys.
Two Defeats Answered
The recovery began two days after the OMI game, with a 1-0 home win over Summerfield Waldorf on October 16th. The week that followed brought back two sides who had each beaten Saint Maximilian 2-1 during the bad run.
On Tuesday, the Crusaders traveled to Saint Joseph Notre Dame, who had won in Napa on October 7th. "In that first meeting, we created plenty of opportunities but simply couldn't find the back of the net," Cendejas said. This time Saint Maximilian won 3-0.
On Thursday, Leroy Greene Academy came to Napa. Their 2-1 win on September 28th had been the Crusaders' first defeat of the season, on a day Cendejas remembers for the chances that would not go in. "Even after 90 minutes, it felt as though nothing was going to go in that day," he said.
The rematch was scoreless at halftime, after a first half Cendejas called dominant. Early in the second half, captain Mateo Briseño broke the deadlock. "His goal opened the floodgates," Cendejas said. Within 10 to 15 minutes, Saint Maximilian had taken complete control, and they won 4-0.
Briseño, a junior, has captained the side since his freshman year and has spent this season at center back and in defensive midfield. Cendejas says he now has 11 goals and seven assists.
The whole side has tightened up at the back. Before this run, Saint Maximilian had not kept two clean sheets in a row all season.
One Debt Left
OMI are the one side from that run the Crusaders have not yet answered, and Cendejas called the 6-0 defeat "our biggest loss in the three years since the soccer program returned." The fixture already had history. OMI won 6-1 in Saint Maximilian's first season back, and last fall's meeting was stopped in the 55th minute at 1-1 after a fight broke out. The Grizzlies have won again since their trip to Napa, 3-0 at Averroes on October 21st.
"We know what our opponent is capable of," Cendejas said. After the way his team responded last week, he believes the rematch "will be very different from our first meeting."
One More Step
Saint Maximilian, now 10-4-2, finish the regular season at Summerfield Waldorf on Wednesday, October 28th. The two schools are first and second in our NCS Division 3 ratings, and the Crusaders won the first meeting 1-0.
Editor's note: Inside The Ninety wants to tell more stories like this one. Records and results only go so far, and the best stories come from the people closest to the game. We thank Coach Cendejas for sharing his thoughts on this season's Saint Maximilian team.
If you coach a team with a story worth telling, we want to hear from you. There might be a breakout player, a season that turned around, or a group doing more with less. Email us at insidetheninety@gmail.com or send us a DM.