Above: Freshman Austin Mansker shut down the high octane Mitty offense for his second shutout.

Valley Christian Opens WCAL Play with Stunning Win At Mitty 12/7

The Valley Christian boys varsity soccer team traveled to Archbishop Mitty to open the WCAL season.  The Monarch's entered the game 3-0-1 coming off a very tough tie against Salinas.  The Warriors came out sporting a 1-4-1 record, but strong momentum after a season changing performance against Los Gatos just two days prior.

The Mitty soccer field is a tough place to play.  The field has real grass, and it can be mushy in parts.  Since joining the WCAL, Valley Christian had only recorded one win at Mitty...that is, until today.

After a strong pep talk, the Warriors started the game with a great passing sequence right off the kickoff.  The ball worked around the back, and up to the forwards and within a minute VC had their first shot on goal.

In the 24th minute, Aaron Hutton would help change the game.  Hutton, a first half sub for Jordan Pereira, chased down the Mitty sweeper and ultimately stole the ball from him.  He then began dribbling towards the goal before playing a perfect ball across the box to Junior John Walitsch who buried it.

Walitsch had this to say about his game winning goal.

"Aaron took the ball from the sweeper and played me a perfect ball.  All I had to do was put it away..."

"This is easily the most significant goal in my high school career.  We really needed to win that game," Walitsch concluded.

Team Manager Kylie, who celebrated her birthday Tuesday, also had something to say about the goal.

"I thought it was magnificent!  I've already thanked him for my birthday goal." 

The Warriors entered halftime up 1-0 with 40 minutes of hard fought soccer remaining.

The second half started off well, and then one player took over the game. 

"Not exaggerating, Austin had 9 saves in the second half...14 overall.  He was absolutely brilliant!  Today Austin showed why I consider him to be one of the CCS' top goalkeepers," Coach Basanese said following the game.

The Warriors defense held strong, doing their best to keep shots away from their freshman net minder.

When asked about the game afterwards, Austin had this to say.

"That game was intense and thrilling until the last minute!  My guys did a great job of marking up today.  It's feels great to get my first league shutout, and I know that we'll get a few more together."

Though there were a few standout performances for VC, the team played great from top to bottom, all eleven players.

At the end of the game, the score stood.  1-0 Valley Christian.  In a game where nobody expected anything from this young VC side, they would not be held back. 

Senior Captain Nathan Goldsmith said it best. 

"We can beat anybody with heart."

In response to his team's efforts, Basanese said that the team did everything asked of them.

"In all honesty, I've probably never been as proud of one of my teams as I am right now.  Those kids gave us coaches every bit of effort that they had.  I can't ask for anything more.  I feel like we have plenty of skill on this team, and I will keep hammering home that a team that plays like a family will win games in this league.  They showed me that today."

The Warriors will look to continue the momentum with the second league match this Saturday against Sacred Heart Cathedral at home at 2:00pm.  Come out an support this very exciting bunch of players as they look to make it 2-0 on this young league season!

vcsoccer.com man of the match: Austin Mansker (Shutout)

Scoring summary:

Walitsch (Hutton)

VC Starting Lineup: Mansker, Goldsmith, Seaman, Williamson, Joseph, Rosa-Diniz, Walitsch, Garrison, Mark, Pereira, Favre

Weather: Sunny but cold, 60 degrees.

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