The boys soccer substate game took place at West High’s Ed Barker field on May 20 against the Dubuque Senior Rams. West High, ranked number one, was favored to win against the Rams, ranked number 30.
Halfway through the first half, the Rams were leading 2-0 when Ismail Mohamed ’26 scored the first goal from inside the box, giving a much-needed morale boost to the team. Riding off of the energy, Daniel Fuentes ’25 dribbled through defenders to score another goal with five minutes left, leaving the game tied 2-2 at halftime.
The Rams met the Trojans with a strong defense after the break, with the Trojans being unable to score another goal for the first twenty minutes of the second half. Trojan goalie Jacob Gillian ’24 saved three near goals, swiftly putting the ball back with West.
Zein Abu-Hijleh ’24 scored the first goal of the second half, navigating around the Ram defense to raise the score in the Trojans’ favor, 3-2. As the game continued, West managed to keep the ball away from their goal, playing a strong defense, with Caden Crabtree ’25 manning the back line.
With around six minutes left in the game, Fuentes found an opening on the left side, flying the ball past the Rams’ goalie to score his second goal of the night and definitively giving the Trojans the win, with the score being 4-2.
The Rams were unable to find an opening, and the game ended in a Trojan win, with a final score of 4-2.
The Trojans will now advance to the 4A-4 championship against sixth-ranked Dubuque Hempstead on May 22.
