Last soccer season, the Diamond Bar High School boys team narrowly missed qualifying for playoffs after a tie in the last game of the season. This year was a different story.

Finishing the regular season 6-4, the Brahmas won their first CIF playoff match, defeating Marshall High School, 4-3. In the next round, DBHS was defeated by Baldwin Park, the second-ranked team in the league, 2-1.

This year’s team was assembled in somewhat of a rush due to the pandemic, and is made up of many younger players, according to head coach Pete Orosco. He said that this was because he wanted to build the structure of the team without having to worry about many seniors leaving at the end of the school year. Despite having many underclassmen players, the team performed well. 

“This team should have gone undefeated as they made many opportunities in the game, but when you make 15 opportunities but only deliver on two of them, it’s very difficult to sustain winning,” Orosco said.

Despite the playoff loss, Orosco said he was proud of the team for doing well. 

“Everybody contributed this season, that’s just part of being on the team, but notable players to me are not only great athletes but also great leaders,” said Orosco. “A guy like Aaron McElrea was really great not only as a player but also as a leader for the rest of the team.” 

Orosco also noted senior Justin Bortis as an excellent striker for the team. He described him as someone who would sacrifice his body for the game and take injuries so that the team could succeed in the league. 

“He would get brutalized by players who tried to hurt him intentionally,” Orosco said. “He was a target for the other teams, but every time he would still get up and lead the charge for the team.”

Orosco said that this season was excellent and he is proud of all of his players. In addition, he said that there was a lot of fan support this season, which he wants to see for all teams on campus. 

“When we won the wild card game and also the game to make it into CIF the stadium was rocking and the crowd was loud,” Orosco said. “Every team at Diamond Bar, not just the soccer team, should have students and adults coming to support them.”