Acalanes players celebrate their 1-0 victory over cross-town rivals Photo Tod Fierner
Last Friday night, December 19th, at Acalanes High School, the Dons varsity soccer team hosted rival Campolindo, and escaped with a close 1-0 win over the Cougars.
Acalanes, now 7-1-0 and 2-0-0 in league play, came into the match fresh off of a 2-1 win against Berkeley; the Dons' lone loss was against DFAL powerhouse Dublin.
The Dons bounced back from the loss quickly, recording four straight victories en route to a championship in their own Winter Soccer Classic tournament. Acalanes outscored its opponents in that tournament 10-1.
Campo entered the contest against the Dons with a 2-4-2 record with two scoreless ties. One of those draws was against cross-town rival Miramonte. With the loss to Acalanes, the Cougars drop to 2-5-2.
The young Campolindo team sports three freshmen, while Acalanes plays only one. Cougar coach Shane Carney started five sophomores in the loss to the Dons.
The first half went by slowly, with Acalanes given numerous chances to score, but the home team was unable to capitalize throughout the first 40 minutes.
With 31:27 into the first half, Cougar junior striker Marco Tavecchio broke through the Dons defense, but was stopped by Dons senior keeper Logan Spittler.
Just two minutes later, Acalanes was robbed of yet another scoring opportunity by Cougar junior defenseman Matt Reshke.
In the second half, the Dons started to get restless. 11:21 into the half, some offensive power was demonstrated by the Cougars as midfielder and captain Nick Dobon's free kick was caught in mid air by Spittler, who gave up no rebound.
With time winding down on the game, Acalanes senior Ben Ewing scored the game-winning goal with 4:02 left, propelling the Dons out of the scare. "We fought hard all game, but we're lucky to come out on top," exclaimed Ewing. Head coach Paul Curtis added, "You just witnessed Acalanes soccer at its finest."
On the other side of the field, Campolindo was disappointed. "It was a tough game, we both battled really hard.... it was an intense game, but Acalanes won it at the end," said Tavecchio.
Afterwards, Carney said, "It was tough to lose in the last minutes.... we're a super young team, this was a huge game, and we proved we're not an easy win anymore."
The Dons stay undeafeted at home while continuing their three-game win streak.
Both teams now take a break for the holidays.
Nick Palano (#20) rushes to defend against Acalanes Photo Tod Fierner
Cam Carda (#9) heads the ball Photo Tod Fierner
Campolindo Goal Keeper Alex Mangels Photo Tod Fierner
Acalanes, now 7-1-0 and 2-0-0 in league play, came into the match fresh off of a 2-1 win against Berkeley; the Dons' lone loss was against DFAL powerhouse Dublin. 
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA