Downey vs. Dominguez

Mayra Castro

On Wed., Feb. 12, Roberto Astorga, 12, heads for the goal during the game against Dominguez High School. Downey took the win with a final score of 4 to 0.

Mia Dixon-Slaughter, Co-Editor-in-Cheif
February 24, 2014

On Wed., Feb. 12 at 3 p.m., the boys varsity soccer team played against Dominguez High School, in order to advance to the CIF playoffs, after previously tying with Dominguez in a game earlier in the season.

The Downey and Dominguez varsity players began their warm ups on the field until the referee blew the whistle for the players to take their positions.

The game opened with the Vikings getting the ball and kicking it across the field, just missing the net. Soon after that, senior Rodryck Ortega scored the first goal of the game after the goalie tripped trying to catch the ball, making the score 1-0.

“The highlight of the game for me was scoring in the first five minutes,” Ortega said. “I had a feeling after that that it was going to be a good game.”

Dominguez struggled to keep up with the Vikings and senior Downey player Erick Bermudez scored another goal ending the first half of the game with a score of 2-0 with the Downey varsity team in the lead.

When the Downey soccer players returned to the field from their halftime break, they noticed a difference in the Dominguez players.

“They gave up after we scored that second goal,” senior Erick Bermudez said. “You could tell when they were playing that they knew they weren’t going to win anymore.”

With Dominguez not playing at their full potential, Downey was able to easily keep the game at their advantage. Ortega scored another goal bringing Downey up another point.

Dominguez put up a weak defense in the second half, allowing Downey to steal the ball repeatedly. The Dominguez players missed every opportunity to score a goal. The players began to get frustrated, resulting in a series of fouls called by the referee and the ball being turned over to Downey.

A serious penalty occurred towards the end of the game when the Downey goalie picked up the ball when one of his own players kicked it to him, a clear violation. Dominguez received a penalty kick but missed. The ball was given back to Downey and Patino scored the final goal for the Vikings resulting in an ending score of 4-0.

Senior Earnesto Patino was proud of his team at the end of the game.

“We played good,” Patino said. “but I would like us to improve on the intensity we start the game with.”

The varsity boys celebrated their win by huddling up together in a huddle with Coach chanting “Go Downey!” and then hit the showers. Their season came to an end on Feb. 18 at the CIF game.

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About the Contributors

Mia Dixon-Slaughter, Co-Editor-in-Cheif

Mia Dixon-Slaughter, Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Downey Legend, stepped into the world of journalism 3 years ago as a sophomore. After a great deal of persuasion from her two best friends, who were on staff at the time, Dixon-Slaughter submitted her application at the semester and was welcomed shortly after. “I love writing and always have,” Slaughter said, “but I’ve always stuck strictly to literature so branching out into a different style and type of writing has helped me develop as a writer.” Although writing essays and covering stories can be polar opposites, the writer adjusted without much trouble. During her time at The Downey Legend, she has covered numerous stories, fiddled with the camera, and established the newspaper’s credibility on social media. She is competent enough to know what it takes to have efficient deadlines; all Slaughter has to do now is to guide her staff in that direction.

If the writer is not covering stories happening around school, she is still somehow always somewhere on campus. Juggling AP classes, an ASB position, and her role in newspaper, Slaughter often finds herself with a hectic schedule. This being said, when genuine free time presents itself, she takes full advantage of it. “I love getting lost or ending up in places spontaneously because it feels so great to not have an agenda sometimes,” Dixon-Slaughter said. While the senior is busy getting ready for college and balancing out the rest of her responsibilities, she hopes to provide the staff with an exemplary example of the amount of greatness that can rise from commitment.

Mayra Castro, Photographer

Current photographer for The Downey Legend, Mayra Castro, approaches her senior year with optimism and hopes to makes her final year memorable by never missing an opportunity to hang out with friends, while still managing her academics. Castro describes photography as her favorite art medium and, although her passion is fairly new, she is eager to gain more experience by practicing alongside the other Online Newspaper photographers. The senior decided to join the staff because she wanted a place where she could showcase her work while working with other passionate and goal oriented students. She is also considering a future in photojournalism and hopes to familiarize herself with the publication process.

Castro’s main goal for the future is to be the first in her family to go to college. The aspiring photographer feels that a college degree is a necessary component to be successful in today’s economy. When she is enrolled in school, Castro hopes to major in photojournalism and eventually have her images published in a popular magazine where thousands of people can appreciate her work. In her personal life, Castro describes herself as a simple girl with simple tastes. She appreciates the small things in life like listening to music or simply hanging out with friends at the local mall. She looks at each day from a relaxed and optimistic perspective. “The most important part of my life is being happy,” Castro said. “That's all that matters.”