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Berkeley High boys’ soccer coach Janu Juarez named three captains at the beginning of the season: seniors Chris Davis and Liam Reilly and sophomore Kamani Hill. The trio proved worthy of the honor on Wednesday night, as each had a hand in two goals of a 3-0 Berkeley win over Washington High in the first round of the North Coast Section 3A playoffs. 

Berkeley came into the game as the 10th and last seed of the playoffs, with the visiting Huskies the No. 7 seed. The ’Jackets only got a berth because they won the ACCAL title, also earning themselves a home game. But they used that home-field advantage well on Wednesday, skipping long passes along the artificial turf and playing the bounces more consistently than their opponent. 

“We had home-field advantage tonight, and that was huge,” Davis said. “I’ve been on varsity for four years, and we’ve only lost one game here.” 

Washington looked shocked by Berkeley’s speed and accurate long balls, perhaps because they cruised to a 2-0 win over the ’Jackets during a tournament earlier this season. But Berkeley didn’t have the services of Hill or Davis in that game, and they made the difference on Wednesday. 

Although the Huskies had some early chances on offense, Berkeley started attacking down the flanks with Reilly and right wing Willie Vega to pressure the Washington defense. Vega gave forward Giovanni Garcia-Perez and excellent service 20 minutes into the game, but the wide-open Garcia-Perez hit his shot right at Washington goalkeeper Nick Data. 

Nine minutes later, Reilly hit a long left-footed free kick that found the head of the leaping Hill, and the sophomore drove the ball past Data for the game’s first score. 

The ’Jackets would get another score before halftime, as Davis put a high ball behind the defense. Reily rushed past his defender, then hit a volley that rocketed into the back of the net before Data could react. 

For Reilly, Davis and Berkeley five other seniors, Wednesday was the first chance at post-season glory. The ’Jackets haven’t been to the NCS playoffs in five years, so the seniors knew they had to come prepared. 

“I felt it all day, just this tingly feeling in my spine,” Davis said. “We’ve waited a long time for this.” 

“We had so much energy today, it was unbelievable,” Reilly said. “There was nothing in my head today. I just floated around.” 

Hill missed a penalty kick just before halftime, and Juarez was worried that his team might let the Huskies get back in the game. But he didn’t have to worry, as the game’s final goal came in the 51st minute. Davis hit another precise through pass, this time to Hill. Berkeley’s leading scorer sliced past two defenders, then coolly put the ball past Data.  

The Huskies had no answer for Berkeley’s blistering pace, and they got off just three shots on goal in the second half despite pushing more and more players up as time ran down. Berkeley defenders Victor Mendoza, Sam Geller, Roberto Meneses and Chris Darby swarmed any Washington attackers who made it past midfield, giving them no room to maneuver. After a near-disaster against Richmond last week that could have kept them out of the playoffs, the ’Jackets were ready for anything. 

“We used low pressure on them for the first few minutes, then cranked it up to high pressure for the rest of the game,” Mendoza said. “We shut them down all over the field.” 

Berkeley now faces second-seeded Castro Valley on Saturday. Heading into yet another game as the underdog, the ’Jackets sounded anything but meek. 

“They brought their whole team down here to watch us today, so they know what we’re going to do,” Hill said. “We’re gonna bring it to them, so they’d better watch out.” 

Juarez sounded even more confident than his players. 

“This draw couldn’t have been better for us if we penciled it in ourselves,” he said. “I’ve seen Castro Valley play. Unless they’ve done some big things, they’re in big trouble.”