THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

The Whitney High boys soccer team held onto its third-place position in the Capital Valley Conference by earning a tie with visiting Cosumnes Oaks Wednesday. Based on a points system (three points for a win, one for a tie), the Wildcats remained three points ahead of fourth-place Roseville and five over Bella Vista. The Tigers swing into town Friday for their final regular-season meeting and the outcome has playoff implications. “We’re not there yet, we’re getting close; we’re not there yet,” Whitney head coach Joel Williams said concerning the postseason. “We still have to get some results and if we do we’ll be in great shape.” A victory over Roseville could put the Wildcats in position to take over second place if No. 1 Ponderosa beats Cosumnes Oaks Monday. However, a loss to the Tigers would drop the ‘Cats into a tie with the Bengals. Against Cosumnes Oaks, Whitney bounced back after a 3-1 loss to the Wolfpack just five days earlier. The Wildcats came out on the attack and scored just two and a half minutes into the match. Jake Ensign kicked a goal attempt directly into the hands of Cosumnes Oaks’ goalkeeper. The force of the kick, and perhaps a little moisture from persistent showers, allowed the ball to slip through the keeper’s grasp and into the goal. The ‘Cats led 1-0 until near the end of the first half, when the Wolfpack ramped up their offense and added two goals to go ahead 2-1. “That’s their style of play. Everything is high press so you don’t have time to relax and make a lot of decisions,” Williams said of the ‘Pack. “You have to be able to take a snapshot real quick mentally of what you see and then make that decision after that, and trust that what you saw was right.” To start the second half, Whitney’s Abi Daniel fed a cross-pass to Nate Sherwood who fired a rocket-shot into the Wolfpack’s goal to tie the match 2-2, again just minutes into the final period. The two teams then played to a 2-2 deadlock to finish the match. “For me, it’s just confidence,” Sherwood said. “Because if I know what I can do with the ball and I can take my guy on and I know I can move the ball from side to side then I will be fine.” What has not been fine for Whitney is the condition of the team. Williams said he was down six players and had to play five that were dinged up, but still healthy enough to play. Although the Wildcats are not yet a shoo-in for the playoffs, Williams said the eight-day break between his club’s final match Monday at Antelope, and the start of the playoffs Feb. 21, would be huge in helping the maroon and gold to prepare; Sherwood agreed. "As long as we put our minds to it, I know that we have a lot of people who can really get the job done,” Sherwood said. “We’re really an offensive team. I think that once we get the ball moving and we go at the goal hard the defense can’t do anything to stop us.”

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

WHITNEY BOYS SOCCER HOLDING DOWN NO. 3 SPOT

JIM LINSDAU

Placer Herald | 2/10/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Whitney High School Athletics