Windsor, Calif. – Cardinal Newman completed a 3-1 comeback victory against Windsor Friday Night in spectacular fashion with two big goals in the second half from seniors Aden Chavez and Nathan Lubega.

The Cardinals were caught off guard at the beginning of the game by the Jaguars, who began the game aggressive with their attacking play. They set a high press and did not allow much Newman attack in the first moments of the game. Junior Yahir Trejo received a nice through ball and was able to beat the Newman defense for his third goal in two games to put the Jags up 1-0. This initial goal helped the Jaguars set the tone for the first fifteen minutes of the game - high octane Windsor offense and a back line that would send any Newman attack back towards their own goal with powerful clearances. However, gradually, Newman was able to incorporate an attack and break the Windsor line. The Cardinals facilitated the ball through the midfield and down the line using a rotation of seniors Sammy Abbott, Angel Caballero, Josh Patterson, Jacob Patterson and Eli Allen. Newman was able to push their full backs forward like they were wing backs, setting up a powerful two man back line utilizing Oliver Currie and Gio Dimauro to push the ball back up the field into attack anytime Windsor cleared it. Through this strategy, at about twenty minutes in, the Cardinals had had seven set pieces. However, Windsor's strong defense led by captains Rafael Garcia and Eli Rosen cleared the ball effectively every time it was sent into the box.

Newman's chances were building up those like water pressure against an old, weathering dam. The common recipe for the last twenty minutes of the first half was: Newman attack, Windsor sends ball out of bounds deep in their own territory to set up set piece, Newman barely scores, Windsor either makes save or clears the ball, Newman regains possession around midfield, repeat. However, every hit, every pressure, every set piece, wore out the Windsor defense. The pressure built and built and built until Giovanni Dimauro quite literally rose to the occasion, soaring above the Windsor defense, and scoring a beautiful header off a set piece in stoppage time to tie things up for the Cardinals heading into half.

Dimauro, who has been injured since the first game of the season, described the feeling around the team as the game developed, "Energy was low at the beginning of the game. We knew we had to turn it up and as soon as we got that first goal back, it just injected energy back into the game and we knew from there, we were going to take it."

Newman was more aggressive to begin the second half with the Cardinals seemingly more energized than the Jaguars, who had just fought off a barrage of attacking play from CN to close the first half. As a result, to try to slow down the attack and force some turnovers, Windsor became more aggressive with challenges, leading to a few bookings early on in the half. The Jaguars kept with their strategy of quick clearances, trying to get something on the counter attack. The Newman back line stayed strong and kept the pressure on. Newman earned a free kick in the 58th minute after the referee played advantage on a ball inside due to a high tackle by a Windsor player. From about 23 yards out, senior Aden Chavez stepped up to try to give the Cardinals the lead. Without hesitation, Chavez bent the ball around the Jaguar wall and slotted it into the bottom right corner to give CN a 2-1 lead. In an interview with Cardinal Newman Senior Julian Khoury, Chavez, holding the match ball, described what he saw and his execution, "I just trusted my technique. It's a shot I practice a lot in practice. It's just right, top of the box, ball is down, not moving, just got to get around the wall, place it low, (and) it got in."

Chavez's goal invigorated the CN attack with a second wind to keep up the energy. Windsor was weathered and due to the aggressive pressure from the Cardinals, the Jaguars became more

choppy and unorganized. The Jaguars were grasping at straws on the counter attack in the last fifteen minutes of the match, as the Newman defense sent every chance right back up the field. The Jaguars kept receiving bookings as they tried to slow the Cardinals down. Set piece after set piece, but the Jaguars stayed firm trying to get a chance to tie the game. That chance was short lived though, as the Cardinals pushed it up the field on one final counter attack with seven minutes left in the match. After regaining possession the Cardinals broke the Windsor line with a crafty through ball out on the wing to Jacob Patterson who found Nathan Lubega streaking down the center of the pitch for a brace, placed in the bottom right corner, beating the grasp of Windsor goalkeeper Christian Urincho. The Cardinals played keep away in the last moments of the game, ending it on a man advantage after Windsor defender Adrian Reyes received a red card in stoppage.

After some tough early season results for CN, the Cardinals seem to be back on track and look lethal. Chavez had this to say about the team breaking the mold, "Honestly, we started slow. Lower than our expectations, but it's good that we're starting to be on an incline, getting up, and today really marks the start of the season for us. We got some big goals this year." Their coaching, leadership and talent already makes them an easy pick as one of the best teams in Northern California. The Cardinals have a large senior class this year which means leadership and experience isn't in short supply, and the seniors serve as mentors to the talented juniors and sophomores that play a huge role in the roster. Despite being injured for most of the year, Gio Dimauro has been a team leader on the sidelines and off the field. While being cheered on by sophomore goalkeeper Devon Taylor in the background, Dimauro talked about his mindset when it came to leadership even when he wasn't playing, "It's my second game back. Just staying positive from the sidelines, showing up to practices and making sure we're staying focused. Giving whatever guidance I can from the sidelines."

The Cardinals' ability to play aggressively and attack relentlessly even while down is incredible and will help come playoff time. Their midfield is incredibly deep and talented with junior Nacio Gutierrez and sophomore Gavin Stone leading the charge. Gutierrez and Stone were both ecstatic following the win, "It feels great. We were down early, you know, but we never lost confidence in our guys. We stepped up when we needed to," Gutierrez exclaimed. Stone added, "The job's not finished. Got a whole half of the season left to play. Hopefully we'll keep this up." The Cardinals seemed poised for another NBL Title and possibly a run at the NorCal title once again, but the players are focused on the now which will undoubtedly help them, taking everything one game at a time.

However, the road stays rocky for the Cardinals from here on out. The NBL Oak is looking like a bloodbath this year, following once undefeated Ukiah's back to back losses to Windsor and Rancho Cotate. Rancho currently is tied for first in league with CN and the Cougars will make the journey to Ed Lloyd Field Tuesday to face off with Newman in what will be a great game. The Cardinals still have to travel to face Ukiah on February 4th in Mendocino County, the same Ukiah team that beat them earlier this year 2-1. Carrillo is 2-2 and hungry for more wins to bolster their spot in NCS, and Montgomery is still looking for their first win in NBL play this year, so no one should be perceived as safe. Just like on the girls side of things, the NBL Oak could be won by a two loss or even three loss team. If Newman can stay on track, they are poised to finish as a top five team in the North Coast Section and possibly hold the one seed in NCS Division 2, the highest they can rise out of their base Division 4.