Carlos Calixto said that he knew on Monday evening how Tuesday’s de facto Desert Empire League title game would unfold. He saw it in his players’ eyes.
“They were ready,” he said.
Safe to say that Calixto, the boys’ soccer coach at Rancho Mirage High School, is one of the few who was not surprised by just how dominant the Rattlers were in their 5-1 win over Palm Desert. Most expected it to be a closely contested game between the top two teams in the DEL.
Instead, Rancho Mirage cruised behind the motivation to avenge a 1-0 loss to the Aztecs last month. That Jan. 20 loss was the only blemish on the Rattlers (15-1) record.
In addition, the game was for an outright DEL title, with Palm Desert (15-4-5) also entering the contest with just one league loss.
“We were ready, for sure,” said forward Jerome Carter, who scored four goals for the Rattlers.
Rancho Mirage had a film session on Monday evening, followed by some field work. Calixto said that he was very candid with his players about mistakes they had made in the previous matchup.
But he said that he was pleasantly surprised that the players took the instruction without any resistance.
“They applied what we were talking about,” he said. “They had it.”
Forward Angel Reyes scored the first goal for the Rattlers, just four minutes into the game to set the tone. Palm Desert answered to even the score with a goal by senior forward Andres Chapparo. The home crowd of several hundred erupted.
But the away crowd, which may have even been larger, rose to its feet when only five minutes later the Rattlers regained the lead. The goal was wiped away due to contact with the Aztecs’ goalie, though it didn’t matter. Carter soon took control of the game.
The senior, who entered the game with 20 goals in 14 games this season, scored on three penalty kicks to give the Rattlers a three-goal lead. The first came late in the first half. The final two PKs came early in the second half.
Carter added his fourth goal late in the game, outracing the Palm Desert defense to score a goal in a one-on-one situation with the Aztecs’ goalie.
Both teams will participate in the upcoming CIF Southern Section playoffs. Pairings will be announced Saturday.
Calixto said that coming off a decisive win like Tuesday’s, against a talented squad like Palm Desert, is the perfect way to enter the postseason.
Carter said that the plan is now to make a deep postseason run and play for a CIF championship.
“Yeah, that’s definitely the goal,” Carter said.
[This story has been updated to include a correction.]
Andrew John covers sports for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Rancho Mirage avenges loss to Palm Desert, captures outright DEL title
Reporting by Andrew John, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
