soccer FC Davis men pick up first victory

By Henry Krueger Enterprise correspondent

As the lowest-scoring team in the Golden Gate Conference, FC Davis’ attackers have felt the pressure to produce more consistently this season.

Forward Wumi Aladetimi rose to the occasion on Saturday, scoring twice to lead the Golden Lions (1-5-1) to a 2-1 win over Sonoma County Sol FC (2-5-1) at the UC Davis Dairy Complex.

“I told myself before the game I wanted to score two goals,” Aladetimi said. “I wanted to contribute rather than just dribble all the time to no end product.”

Aladetimi’s efforts helped FC Davis notch its first victory, a feat that has eluded the club for more than half of its season.

“It’s about time we won cause we’ve been losing,” Aladetimi said. “We knew we were a better team than them, so we just had the right mindset today.”

FC Davis came out aggressive and dominated possession for much of the first half. After a series of unsuccessful scoring runs, the Golden Lions had a breakthrough in the 18th minute when Aladetimi drilled a shot that deflected off a defender into the goal for a 1-0 lead.

The Sol responded quickly, tying the game up with a goal in the 21st minute.

However, what seemed like the beginning of a high-scoring contest turned into a defensive grind as the match progressed. With both teams

See VICTORY, Page B2 through difficult times,” Garratt said.

Garratt gave some examples.

Two Blue Devils who have not played football prior to the tournament played in all four games. Garratt liked their drive as competitors on Saturday.

“Their frustration came, but yet they knew that they needed to keep playing, even when it seemed impossible, but to keep working hard,” Garratt said. “They tried to get better, and they did.”

Other Blue Devil players, Garratt noted, who have played high school and youth football, see that there’s a process to improving over time.

“They were humble to the point where they know that they don’t know,” Garratt said. “I think, the process that it is devasting (but) it’s also humbling and get to the point where we have to come to practice every time and have to try to get better, and have a desire to try to get better.”

Garratt stressed the off-season workouts in the weight room, which continue during the spring and summer months, is essential in preparing for the upcoming season.

“Some guys have not been consistently been there in the off-season (weight training workouts) or during spring practices,” Garratt said. “A lot of guys have never really played together, and a lot of guys have never really played varsity (football).

“It was a good reality check to see where do we stand in terms of what kind of commitment we need to get.”

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