JV Boys took on Loomis Chaffe in their last home game of the season. Yet again, the JV field was unfit for play, which meant the team has played no games at all on their actual field, but the boys were determined to keep their 3-year unbeaten home record going against a tough Loomis side. The visitors nearly took an early lead with a cracking shot that pinged off the post, before an excellent Miller Masterson cross was well held by the Loomis keeper. It was Masterson again in the 17th minute with a superb freekick just outside the box that shook the frame of the goal. There followed a period of constant pressure from the Taft team, as their passing and movement took shape and caused constant threats. In the 25th minute, an Anmay Suri freekick was collected by the keeper, and just a minute later a Michael Werblow through ball for Kaden Parsons saw the resulting cross cleared by the defense. Another corner for Taft was met by the stoic Loomis defense, before the deadlock was finally broken when a Camilo Pinto Gonzalez sent a ball into the path of Parsons, who expertly stepped, turned and slotted the ball past the keeper for an excellent goal. The home town kept pressing. A minute later, Noah Cinel shot a freekick into the wall. The resulting play saw a Loomis counter, but Taft turned the situation into a counter of their own when Cayden Van Dolah launched a long precision ball up to Jonathan So, who crossed it to Julian Prentice, who headed down for Parsons, who met the ball with a fearsome ferocity that, unfortunately, flew over the bar. Seconds later, Cinel had a long shot pushed around the post by the keeper and the resulting corner from So was headed over by Thomson Knight. Despite persistent pressure, Taft could not find a way through until a minute before halftime, when a freekick on the edge of the Loomis box from Cinel was met by Van Dolah who found the back of the net. The half ended 2-0 in favor of the home team. The second half began strongly for Taft when an Abdikani Ahmed through ball found Masterson whose dangerous cross was cut out by the keeper. It was Masterson, again, five minutes later who laid the ball off to Liam Dhumale-Smyth whose shot again found the Loomis No. 1. Dhumale-Smyth’s corner in the 12th caused concern for the Loomis defense before finally being cleared, and another corner 2 minutes later, this time from So, was met well but headed just over the bar by Chris Joszczyk. The Loomis defense was breached once more in the 17th minute, when Luca Gatti’s intricate dribbling drew a foul in the box. The resulting penalty was expertly dispatched by Knight—his first goal for the team. Just a couple of minutes later, however, a Taft defensive mix-up left a Loomis forward one-on-one with keeper Will Droppo, who could do nothing about the pinpoint finish from the visitors. But any hopes for a Loomis comeback were dashed just a minute later, when an excellent cross from Parsons was met first time from So, who slotted past the keeper to make it 4-1. It was a superb goal, and capped an excellent performance from So, who nearly made another impact with a pinpoint cross to Prentice, who was unlucky not to finish. In the 33rd minute, it was So once again, who maintained possession and beat numerous defenders with some intricate control, before unleashing a shot that was well held by the Loomis keeper, a sequence of events repeated almost exactly the same way just a minute later, albeit with a looping So shot this time. The game ended 4-1, which means Taft go unbeaten at home this season, and have the chance to remain unbeaten both home and away when they visit Hotchkiss next week. Special mention must go out to our Seniors, who played their last home game of their Taft careers. All put in an excellent performance and they, and the rest of the team, can feel proud of their efforts. Go Big Red!