Shawn DePaz is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Gilbert High School for AZPreps365.com

The Casteel Colts boys soccer team came onto the pitch at Gilbert High School Monday night having won their first five matches of the season by a 28-0 margin. They left the match against the Tigers still undefeated after winning 4-0, tying for their second lowest scoring game of the season.

The Tigers’ senior goalkeeper, Ilya Uvaydov, did everything he could to keep the score close, making a number of saves that drew cheers from the handful of socially-distanced Gilbert fans. One such moment came in the 20th minute of the match, when Uvaydov made a jumping save off of a Casteel free kick from just outside of the box, then quickly recovered to save the rebound.

Tigers coach Jeff Perry praised the performance of his veteran goalie.

“He’s solid for us. He’s got good leadership skills,” Perry said, “If it wasn’t for Ilya, we would have lost by a few more.”

Casteel’s first goal came in the ninth minute from junior Ethan Calimpong, which was his eighth goal in just six games this season, followed by a goal from junior Ryan Blankenship in the 31st minute. 

In the second half, another junior, Jacob Aguayo, took over the game. He scored twice for Casteel, including an impressive strike from outside of the box with less than two minutes remaining in the half.

Perry had plenty of praise for the Colts.

“They’re just bigger than we are, a little stronger, a little quicker,” Perry said. “They just don’t make mistakes. When they get around the frame, they put the ball on frame.”

Despite not managing to put up any goals, the Tigers look to build off their performance. The young Gilbert team, which has 13 underclassmen on the roster, viewed this loss as an opportunity to grow.

“We just have a lot of young guys, so they got experience in a big game against a good opponent,” Perry said.

With the loss, Gilbert moved to 3-3 on the season and will likely have to win the majority of their five remaining games to make the playoffs.

Still, Perry said the team’s goal remains the postseason.

“For us, what we expect the rest of the way is to win enough games to try and get in the tournament, maybe get another shot at a team like [Casteel],” Perry said.

The Tigers will now get a nearly two-week break before they face the Horizon Huskies in Scottsdale on Feb. 16. The Colts also play the Huskies next, but with a much shorter turnaround, traveling to Horizon on Tuesday night.