Romir Jain ‘24 runs toward the crowd as they erupt in cheers after he scores the first point of the game. 25 minutes into the game, there hadn’t been any goals scored, but in a quick play Jain was able to best the Raiders. “The highlight of the game for me was probably celebrating with my teammates,” Jain said.
Kaz Seyhoon ‘26 dribbles down the field with the ball, looking for an open teammate to pass to.
The Warriors line up to shake hands with the Cedar Ridge Raiders before the game.
The Westwood boys varsity team huddles up quickly before the game begins. This was the team’s second district game, and they had been preparing for it by focusing on corner kicks and high press during their practice. “[We had been practicing] the free kick in practice all week, so it was good to do it in the game,” Ishaan Saini ‘26 said.
On Tuesday, Jan. 23, the varsity men’s soccer team demolished the Cedar Ridge Raiders in their second district game, winning the game with a score 3-0. From the beginning of the match, the Warriors expected nothing less than a hard-fought game jam-packed with intensity.
“We should be the favorites on paper, but we got to want it so [it] should be a good game,” Owen Plug ‘24 said. “From years past we beat them at their place but then tied them here so it will be a good game. We’ve been working on our high press to make sure that they can’t play out of the back, especially on goal kicks.”
Moving swiftly right from the start, the Warriors kicked off, moving quickly into offensive plays. With the team’s quick thinking, they could immediately transition into high-speed passing. Multiple times near the start of the game the ball went out of bounds, giving Egan Chaney ‘24 multiple throw-ins, and opportunities for Westwood to make runs. Throughout the first half of the game, Chaney showed how essential he was to the team, blocking Cedar Ridge players from advancing down the field multiple times. Beau Bryant ‘26 had multiple noteworthy plays all through the first half as well, including blocking a potential goal for the Raiders and driving it back up the field.
The Warriors continuously kept possession of the ball, attempting multiple shots on goal throughout the rest of the first half of the match. Ishaan Saini ‘26 had many notable plays in the first half and began to give spectators a peak into what he was about to bring to the game. As he drove the ball up the field giving the Warriors an advantage, the crowd erupted in cheers. With many quality plays, clearing the field, and fast thinking, the Warriors continued to stay on offense for most of the game, dominating possession Saini continued to improve throughout the game and helped his teammates as he dribbled the ball down the field several times leaving the Raiders in the dust.
With 17 minutes left in the half, Romir Jain ‘24 erupted toward goal, smashing in the first point of the game for the Warriors, and giving the crowd something to cheer for in applause. Less than five minutes later, Jain scored again for his second point of the half and the crowd erupted in cheers once more, leaving the Warriors triumphant in the first half.
“[Scoring] felt great, it was really exhilarating, it was great and great for my teammates, they’re all really happy so it made me happy too,” Jain said. “[Scoring my second goal was] the same feeling, that feeling will never get old, that’s why we play the game.”
The second half began with the Raiders kicking off, but the Warriors brought the same fierceness with them into the second half that they had ended the first with, now even more motivated to continue to defeat the Raiders.
“Two to zero in my opinion is the worst score to be at because if you let the other team get one goal, they’re right back in the game,” Jain said. “So for me it was just a 0-0 [score], even though we’re up two, we can’t afford to let them score once.”
Not long into the second half, Saini scored his first-ever goal for varsity on a free kick, bringing the score to 3-0. The Warriors’ lead from the first half of the game had set them up for success, and they were able to build on that lead for the rest of the game. Near the end of the match, Westwood switched goalkeepers to Anvith Maddipoti ‘24 and continued to shine until the very end.
“It felt really good [scoring my first goal on varsity] because I’ve been waiting for that moment for the whole year, and it finally came,” Saini said.
Overall, the Warriors dominated while pushing through the cold rainy weather.
“[There] was really good team performance, we all played really well so it was really good,” Saini said.
The varsity boys soccer team will take on the Vista Ridge Rangers on Friday, Jan. 26, at Vista Ridge at 7:30 p.m.
