The Berkeley High School boys varsity soccer team took on San Ramon Valley High School on Saturday Dec. 3, during a cold and rainy afternoon.
The team was coming off of a 3-0 win against Amador Valley in their season opener, looking to continue their success. Given the weather conditions, the game started off slow for both teams. Although Berkeley dominated in terms of possession in the first half, the game remained 0-0 at halftime.
After the second half was under way, it seemed as though things were trending in the wrong direction as San Ramon Valley scored the first goal of the game. However, only minutes later, BHS sophomore Oliver Adams scored to even the game at 1-1. From there on out, the Jackets took control of the game.
Junior Niko Luckey scored on a penalty kick to increase Berkeley’s lead to 2-1. Later, senior Kanoa Kossa-Rienzi added on with a magnificent goal. Kossa-Rienzi bolted down the field in a burst of speed as the ball was being passed back to San Ramon’s goalie. He jumped high in the air to block the goalie’s kick, and scored. He celebrated with a backflip routine and was mobbed by his teammates.
During the final minutes of the game, junior Pepukai Allard-Chigamba capped off an impressive BHS second half with another athletic goal.
“It was a long ball and I just sprinted my a** off past the defender. It was a 1-v-1 with the keeper, and I got there first and scored the goal,” Allard-Chigamba said.
His goal made the final score 4-1 in favor of Berkeley.
BHS Head Coach Andre Hebert praised his team’s efforts, especially their defensive presence, saying, “We defended really well when we needed to.”
Junior Kai Lucas also commended his team for defense. “It was a good game, we put them in a pack.”
With BHS only two games into their season, Hebert said that looking forward, his team still has a long way to go in terms of improvement.