Carlsbad’s strong boys soccer team came into the season ranked both third in the state and 10th in the nation, and for the most part the team has upheld this standard, finding themselves 17-1-2 thus far into the season.

Most recently, the team suffered a rare defeat to La Costa Canyon high school last Thursday. In a well-matched game, the Lancers lost 0-1 when LCC changed a rare shot flashed by expert goalkeeper Matt Deemer with seven minutes remaining in the first half.  Not a team playing from behind often, the team took the shot lightly.

“We were feeling we could still come back even though they scored” senior team captain Ruben Gonzalez said.

In the  second half, the ball moved up and down the field constantly, but with little success, as Carlsbad’s forwards and star captain Tito Cruz clashed with LCC defenders time and time again to no avail.

“We had a lot of the ball possession, but we just couldn’t get the ball in the goal in the second hal,f” Gonzalez said.

But there is no reason to be pessimistic. With only one other loss to San Dieguito alongside their win at a Coronado tournament in the pre-season, Carlsbad already demonstrated their power. They will remain positive and remain ultimately focused on their highly probable post-season dream.

“We’re just gonna come out stronger and take it out on El Camino on Tuesday. Then we want to win league and CIF after that,” Gonzalez said.

And they would. Fresh off a loss, Carlsbad smashed El Camino 8-0 Tuesday and then continued the streak  with a 3-1 win over Vista on Thursday. This would make the losses of the team even more significant to their hefty 19 victories in one season.

It’s a long season, and the team hopes the few losses are only minor dents in a well-deserved championship trophy. Gonzalez speaks the best advice in refusing to let one loss (or two losses out of the twenty-two games) keep his team from giving up hope.

“We’re just take it one game at a time, ” Gonzalez said.