After winning the CIF Wild Card game against Templeton 5-0 last week, the 17-5-2 Diamond Bar soccer team was put to a stop by Norte Vista High School 1-0. The Brahmas’ defense gave up a goal to the Braves in the final two minutes of overtime.

“We played well. We were very pleased with the effort. We didn’t get out-played, we just missed some close chances. Unfortunately, that is soccer,” said coach Kemp Wells.

In the game against the Templeton Eagles last week, DB demolished the Eagles. Senior co-captains Guy Horcasitas and Andre Gamboa led the Brahmas throughout the game. In the first half, Gamboa and Horcasitas ran through the Eagles defense, scoring three goals by the end of the first half. Running with their momentum, the two captains each scored another point, winning the wild card game, 5-0.

“Templeton was a great way to start off CIF because it allowed us to perform what we practiced perfectly,” senior Kevin Kueter said.

Last year, the boys beat Hemet High School in the first round of the CIF playoffs. Then the Brahmas moved on to the second round against Monrovia and tied, 2-2, but after the penalty shoot-out, DB came out on top 3-2, earning its spot in the quarterfinals. During the quarterfinals, DB and Baldwin Park were tied 1-1 for most of the game until they gave a goal to BP and lost their chances of moving on.

To ensure that the Brahmas can keep up with the opponent’s offense, Wells made it a priority to practice defensive schemes. According to Wells, the Brahmas offense was top notch this year, as they were averaging three goals per game.

However, the boys also gave up a lot of goals on the defensive side. Now, DB gave up half the goals of what they gave up last year.

Even though the soccer program moved up two divisions from last year, the team still maintained a similar record from last years. Part of what helped continue a successful record was making the players stay and practice what they didn’t do well during the game.

“When we play together, we’re about as strong a team as there is out there in our division. We had one of the better defenses the schools had in many years, so we did a lot of things right this year. But we fell short in league,” Wells said.

For the rest of the playoffs, the team hopes to stay healthy as one of its crucial players was out for four games, leaving a hole in the depth of the roster. During the game against Claremont, senior Nico Di Donato separated his shoulder after he and Horcasitas ran into each other. Fortunately, Di Donato started to play again ever since the first playoff game.

According to Wells, his return helped the forwards and attacking mids have more options because of Di Donatos excellent defense and versatile play.

“This was definitely a mixed season for us. Our greatest challenge was recovering from our loss against Claremont. It was a big disappointment but we’ve come back from it and we’re looking to win CIF now to make up for not winning league,” senior co-captain Jordan Wong said.