Unity soccer season kicks off strongly

Unity soccer season kicks off strongly

Photo Credit: Julie Ortega

Unity goalie Jorge Mora dives for a ball before a soccer game versus Arise High School on Sept. 29 at spunkmeyer Field in Oakland.

Last 5 stories in Sports

Other stories that might interest you...

November 14, 2010

Beatriz Arias & Julie Ortega, Oakland Unity High

Oakland Unity High boys soccer team is reaching for success, with a record so far of six wins versus only one loss.
Asked how the team is doing so far compared to last year, goalie Jorge Mora, responded, “Pretty good, because we have more players than last year and possibly have a good chance of making it to the championship.”
Coach Sam Zackheim agrees.
“Thus far, to be frank, the season has been dicey at times, meaning unpredictable, like throwing a dice (and) not knowing what you’ll get,” Zackheim wrote in an e-mail.

“Extra responsibility is part of being a student-athlete, and it seems we are finally on the right track, with a squad that understands and embodies the student-athlete commitment to academics, athletics, and overall improvement of self/team. I am proud of where we are right now and excited to continue the year.”

Oakland Unity High boys soccer has had great success in their past games. They have learned to stay motivated and to work as a group and not to isolate one another. Players pass aggressively to one another on the field instead of hogging the ball.

So far Unity has not played against any teams that students believe will be a challenge for them. The most competitive teams that Unity is going up against this year are Lighthouse and Lionel Wilson. Unity lost a painful game to another tough competitor, LPS Richmond, by a score of 3-4.

Unity will play against both Lighthouse and Lionel Wilson in early November. As a charter school, Unity plays against only other charter schools in the Bay Area Charter Schools Athletic Conference, now part of the Oakland Athletic League Section.

The White Tigers will next play Lighthouse on Nov. 1. Players are eagerly anticipating the game.

“Unity is very excited to play versus Lighthouse this season, since we have been rivals for two years now,” said Michael Ruiz, a Unity striker. “Lighthouse has a really great squad as well as (does) Lionel Wilson.

“When Unity plays those two teams we will play with everything that we have, and we will make it a good game,” Ruiz said.

Despite the competition, Unity’s expectations this year are high.

“One of the team goals this year is to play the game as a team, and to hopefully win a championship,” said team captain Abraham Salazar.

Tags: , , , , ,

Email This Post Email This Post       Print This Post Print This Post      

One Response to “Unity soccer season kicks off strongly”

  1. Luis Says:
    February 7th, 2011 at 12:03 pm

    This is a good story, it has a lot of information about the teams score.

    [Reply]

Leave a Reply