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By Niko Bulaon
The IIAAG boys’ soccer playoffs kicked off with the defending champions, St. John’s Knights, avoiding elimination by defeating the fourth-seeded GW Geckos, 3-1, at the GW field Thursday night.
The Knights fell to fifth-seed late into the regular season after losing all of their last three games.
“GW has been a good team from the start,” said Knights captain, Cedric Sevilla. “They have high spirits, we were determined to crush their spirits, press high as a team, and work together effectively.”
The Knights and Geckos knew each other’s aggressiveness, battling it out to gain momentum. But with each shot attempt, the ball either flew too high or straight into the goalie’s hands. It wasn’t until the 35th minute when Knights’ Gen Fudo sliced the ball through the Geckos’ defense and keeper to put his team up, 1-0, ending the first half with high hopes.
At the start of the second half, both teams struggled to keep the ball in their favor. Knights’ keeper, Michael Wang soon stepped up, stopping the high momentum of GW’s Ryan Quitugua on multiple one-on-one situations.
But in the 61st minute, Quitugua soon found an opening, slipping the ball through Wang’s hands to score the Geckos’ lone goal of the game, making it anyone’s game by the end of the half.
Going into overtime, starting with only 10 players after a red card at the end of the second half, the Geckos determination didn’t dwindle. With several missed opportunities by St. John’s, behind Quitugua, GW’s offense started to outrun the defense of the Knights, in an effort to take the lea.
Knights Brian Sih-Jae Kim soon stepped up to get his team’s defense going. The momentum shifted to St. John’s after a clear by Kim was turned into an own goal by GW, putting the Knights back up, 2-1, in the fourth minute.
With St. John’s up, the Geckos looked to tie another time. But with the tight defense of the Knights, GW could find no real opening.
As time ticked away, the Knights started to play safe, keeping the ball as far away from their net as possible. With so many clears coming from St. John’s, Knights’ Daniel Del Carmen found an opportunity, taking the ball up to go one-on-one with the goalie and chipping it in to break any hope of a Geckos comeback with less than two minutes left.
Wang totaled nine saves in the game, playing a dominant role in the Knight’s win. “My teammates had great support,” stated Wang. “Our managers, our coach, our parents; they all had support throughout the season and they motivated me to do better.”
As the defending champions head the to semi-finals, Sevilla said, “I think we need to practice more. It was a good win today, but there are a lot of things we need to work on. Overall, I think the boys will go well.”
The Knights are scheduled to play against their two-time finals opponents, the Southern Dolphins, in the semi-finals, Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
OTHER SCORES
Southern 1, ND 0
Dolphins Napu Topasna with the lone goal
JFK 3, Okkodo 0
Islanders Philip Ogo, Austin Borja, and Agi Choi with one goal apiece
Harvest 3, FD 0
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GPS Sports Calendar
January 2023
- SU
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- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
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- 1
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- 3
- 4
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- 6
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Events for December
31st
Events for January
1st
Events for January
2nd
Events for January
3rd
Events for January
4th
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5th
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6th
- 8
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- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
Events for January
7th
Events for January
8th
Events for January
9th
Events for January
10th
Events for January
11th
Events for January
12th
Events for January
14th
Events for January
15th
Events for January
16th
Events for January
17th
Events for January
20th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL
Events for January
21st
LIFT HEAVY + LIFT FAST – BFF SERIES
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for January
23rd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for January
24th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Events for January
25th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for January
26th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for January
27th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
GLORIFIED SPARRING X
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL
Events for January
28th
5K DASH FOR ASH
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for January
29th
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 1
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL
Events for January
30th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for January
31st
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL

Running/Track
’23 TRACK SEASON OPENS

Running/Track
’23 TRACK SEASON OPENS

Basketball
TAKUMI SIMON MAKING THE BEST OF PRO LIFE

Volleyball
H.S. BEACH VOLLEYBALL IN FULL SWING
COMING SOON …
- 3rd Quarter Sports