The EHAM Room 8 Cats joined the Los Silverlake Invitational for the first time in 2024. In a field featuring fellow Eastside LA schools Ivanhoe, King, Micheltorena, and Franklin, The Cats finished fourth out of five teams during their inaugural season.

So when the team returned for the second time in 2025, expectations were... "limited." But over the course of the tournament, the Cats began to purr. Bedding down a strong tactical identity, gradually learning each other's games, and building an undeniable team spirit, the squad put together a sensational run of form that saw them reach the final against Franklin on April 6.

With a spot in the big showpiece game at John Marshall High School locked, the Cats had already bested the previous year's results by some distance. But the winning started before the game. An hour before kick-off, the EHAM championship-winning Drill Team joined a fearless Jami Rudofsky to clinch first place in the Mascot Dance-Off, priming the fans for a Room 8 victory. But could they win the whole tournament at just the second time of asking....?

Not if the first 20 minutes were any indication, as Franklin took an early lead. But, as in previous games, the Cats worked hard to get themselves back in the running after giving up early goals. The defensive line of Garrett Strommen, Oscar Mason, Jeff Farrington, and Lindsey Kampmeier built a human wall to stop any further Franklin-forays, while the midfield took control of the ball and began creating Cat-attacks.

It quickly paid off, first with AJ Ogilvie making a darting run down the left, cutting inside, and unleashing a rip-snorting shot to level the score. Soon after, the marauding number 10 Jeff Ryan hit a long-range worldie that cannoned in off the post, to make it 2-1.

At halftime, the exhausted Cats regrouped to discuss how to protect their lead. Rather than sit deep and defend the narrow advantage, captain/manager Hardeep Phull (aka The Coventry Ancelotti) instructed the team to press high and hard, capitalize on the team's momentum, and try to push for more goals. It was an inspired decision!

Despite the heat, the Cats came out looking for more and quickly got their reward. Early in the second half, the tireless Tootsa Farrington floated in a beauty of a corner, causing havoc around the six-yard-box. The ball ran loose and, showing the poacher instinct of a young Gary Lineker and the flexibility of an even younger Simone Biles, Neil Schield stuck out a leg to poke the ball home for 3-1.    

The high-press continued to work effectively, with Tootsa, Ditte Nebbegaard, Hillel Aron, and Sune Sorenson all working frantically to pressure Franklin, forcing mistakes and nullifying attacks before they could even begin. But an unlucky handball decision late in the game earned Franklin a penalty, which was duly converted.

With ten minutes left and the score at 3-2, Franklin threw everything at the backline and only some heroic goalkeeping from season MVP Sergio Chavez kept the Cats in the lead.

As the final whistle was blown, our heroes and heroines in pink achieved Elysian Heights immortality. They started that day as humble Eastside moms and dads, but they ended it as LA SOCCER LEGENDS.