The Cubs battled against Servite High School Saturday morning at Cathedral High School in the SoCal College Showcase. Coming off a close but touch match against Cathedral High School (2-1 Cathedral) Loyola’s starting 11 entered the game with high energy and nice touches. Junior forward Spencer Roberts placed consistent pressure on the Servite defense and managed to get more comfortable on the pitch returning from a seven-game break due to injury. 

Loyola controlled possession in the first half leading to an early goal headed in off a corner from Eric Arreola '20 to Grayson Doody '20 (1-0) and another close but missed opportunity shot by Arreola. Headers weren’t just in favor of the Cubs though, with seven minutes left in the first half Servite’s offense took advantage of a corner making the score 1-1. 

 
In the second half, the Cubs were challenged by multiple missed fouls and questionable calling by the refs. Sophomore keeper Zach Discroll stood strong but another header was scored by Servite just twelve minutes into the second half (2-1). Nonetheless, Loyola stayed persistent, responding with another header tying it up 2-2, this time kicked in by Liam Hook ‘20 to Michael Maloney ‘20. With only 15 minutes left in the match, goalkeeper Zach Discroll made a nice save in a one on one battle with a Servite forward. Although the Cubs continued to fight hard to the last minutes of the match, the game ended in a 2-2 draw. 

While a one-goal loss to Cathedral and the 2-2 draw with Servite may be concerning, these early opportunities against other competitive division one team are essential to the development of the Cubs especially for preparing for games in league and then in playoffs. With more opportunities and the guidance of the coaching staff, the Cubs will strive to work on areas where improvement or attention is needed. Next week the Cubs will go south to face Torrey Pines and St. Augustine High School in their San Diego trip.