Taft flying high with unblemished record

Taft's stellar unbeaten season continued with a 4-1 victory over Jones at home Sept. 24.

The lopsided win improved the Eagles to 10-0-1 overall and 5-0-1 in the 2nd Division North.

"We have many seniors on the team who have been playing for the last three or four years, so we had a very high expectation for this year's team," said Taft head coach Will Angel. "We didn't expect to be undefeated, but of our 11 starters eight of them are seniors."

Peter Lagowski, who leads the team in goals, continued his superb sophomore season by scoring a pair of goals in the victory over Jones. Ruben Murguia and Sadali Aitelhadji also tallied for Taft.

"He's only a sophomore but he's been a great addition to our team," Angel said of Lagowski. "He's not only a great athlete but he's very calm on the field. He never panics and doesn't get nervous with the ball. He's a great dribbler and he knows how to finish. When it's time to take the shot he knows how to get the goal."

While Lagowski is responsible for much of the scoring, it's senior sweeper Arlind Kociu who keeps the opponents' offense in check.

"He has such a presence on the field and he allows our offensive players to worry about offense and not defense," Angel said. "Rarely do players pass him, so he allows our goalie to relax a little bit and he's kind of a coach on the field."

Kociu is the team captain and Angel has heavily relied on him to organize practices and keep the team motivated.

Three other key players this season have been senior midfielders Arturo Vera and Peter Gwozdz, and senior defender Kris Lagowski, who is Peter's brother. The siblings have played particularly well together.

"Kris definitely knows how to get him the long pass to set him up," Angel said.

In net, senior Robbie Garcia has done a fantastic job of keeping the opposing team off the scoreboard. He has yet to give up two goals in a game this season.

"He's made phenomenal stops and he's a very good leader," Angel said. "He's had a relatively easy job, there's no denying that. But whenever someone has been wide open he's been able to stop them."

While Taft has already locked up a conference title and will move up to the 1st Division next year, the Eagles feel they still have a lot to prove. Their last conference match was against Senn on Monday, and they also took on Mather -- a 1st Division squad -- in a nonconference contest.

Both tilts served as a warm-up for the CPL playoffs, which begin Saturday. Taft's opponent, and the location, have yet to be determined.

"We definitely look to compete in the main city playoffs and we view ourselves as a contender for the city championship," Angel said. "What we need to really do is stay focused on finishing. We started off scoring quite a few goals but we've had a little bit trouble the last couple weeks. We need to get back into finishing our plays."