We backed Saint Maximilian to get their revenge on Wednesday. Instead, Oakland Military Institute won 6-0 in Napa, ending a three-game losing run of their own and handing the Crusaders their fourth defeat in five games.
Our preview called it 3-2 to the home side. The case looked sound: the Crusaders had 42 goals in 12 games, and OMI had conceded 23 in eight. We got it wrong, and not narrowly.
Saint Maximilian head coach Alex Cendejas did not hide from the result. "We lost 6-0. The outcome we were looking for didn't happen," he said. "Nearly every opponent we face has an advantage in terms of enrollment, squad depth, and the number of players they have available."
It was still a contest at the break. The Grizzlies went ahead early, the Crusaders answered with a clear one-on-one chance that went unconverted, and it was 1-0 at halftime. Ninety seconds after the restart, Saint Maximilian had another one-on-one and missed again.
A few minutes later OMI got a second, and a third followed shortly after. At that point Cendejas rotated his squad, bringing on his bench, taking off his starting goalkeeper and moving defenders into goal. The Grizzlies added three more.
The bigger worry is the trend, for a school with 18 high school boys. Saint Maximilian were unbeaten in their first eight games, at 6-0-2, beating Cristo Rey De La Salle 4-2 and drawing 1-1 with Summit K2 along the way. "Earlier in the season, we were facing these same challenges against larger schools and finding ways to walk away with either one point or all three," Cendejas said.
Three of the four recent defeats were by a single goal. At Leroy Greene Academy on Sept. 28, the Crusaders lost 2-1 after missing what Cendejas counted as more than 10 significant chances. At Summit K2 on Oct. 5, they led 2-1 with five or six minutes left and lost 3-2 to two goals from outside the box. Two days later, at home to Saint Joseph Notre Dame, they had more than 35 shots and still lost 2-1.
"I do not want to take anything away from our opponents, who have all competed well and earned their results, but there have been opportunities for us to change the outcomes," he said.
For OMI, this was the response they needed after defeats at Cristo Rey De La Salle, Sonoma Academy, and Bentley. Six goals matched their best of the fall, set in a 6-5 win at Drew in September, and they kept their second clean sheet. The Grizzlies are 3-4-2 and went into the week ranked 10th in North Coast Section Division 2.
It adds another chapter to a fixture with an edge. OMI won 6-1 in the Crusaders' first season, and last fall's meeting was stopped in the 55th minute at 1-1 after a fight broke out.
"A turning point is needed, and it starts with me as the coach and continues with every player willing to put in the work," Cendejas said. "We cannot change the last five games, but we can determine how we respond in the next one."
The next one comes quickly. Saint Maximilian will host OMI again on October 26th.
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.