Fighting off fatigue, a well-rested Canoga Park team and a 1-0 deficit, the Santa Barbara boys soccer team dug deep and pulled out a victory in a penalty-kick shootout Monday in an opening-round match of the CIF Southern California Regional Division 2 boys soccer championships at Peabody Stadium.
Goalkeeper Miguel Solis stopped one shot and the Dons were a perfect 5-for-5 in the shootout as they won, 5-4, and advanced to Wednesday’s semifinals at No. 2 seeded University City of San Diego, a 2-0 winner over Perris-Citrus Hill.
The Dons and Hunters of the L.A. City Section battled to a 1-1 tie through regulation and a 15-minute overtime period. It was the fourth overtime game in the playoffs for the Dons and second game decided by a shootout.
“We’ve been in overtime games so much this season, we’re veterans at it,” said Santa Barbara coach Todd Heil.
Fans and players celebrate after Santa Barbara's come-from-behind win in the Southern California Regional Championships. The Dons tied the score late in the second half and won in a penalty-kick shootout.
Alberto Hernandez converted the winning penalty kick for Santa Barbara, which was playing less than 48 hours after the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 final, where it lost 2-1 against San Clemente.
“You just got to be relaxed, you just got to know where you’re going. Simple, said Hernandez of making the deciding kick.
Sanford Spivey, Edgar Ruiz, Thomas Crawford, Tyler Schleich all beat Canoga Park freshman goalkeeper Alexis Garcia, who was outstanding during regulation play and overtime.
Solis stopped Canoga Park’s second shooter, Christian Hernandez, and that turned out to be the difference. It was Solis’ second shootout win of the postseason — he beat West Torrance in the Southern Section D-1 semifinals at Peabody Stadium.
The quick turnaround after playing in Saturday night’s D-1 final in Downey took its toll on many of the Santa Barbara starters, as they fought through heavy legs and depleted energy. But the Dons got good performances off the bench from players like Kane Nania in the midfield and Thomas Crawford and TJ Fairchild at forward.
“We were tired,” Heil said. “We got home at 12:30 Saturday night, and we were just tired. We were excited, but once your legs start going and you start to feel it and they start to weigh … you could tell in the first half that our legs were starting to weigh on us.”
Despite feeling tired, the Dons (20-6-3) created chances to jump on Canoga Park, which last played on Feb. 18. when it was eliminated in the second round of the L.A. City Section playoffs. In the 38th minute, Spivey’s header off a Hernandez free kick was headed off the goal line by Hunters’ defender Juan Islas. A minute later, Crawford broke in on goal and had his shot blocked by Garcia.
Early in the second half, Garcia made a diving save on a free kick by Tony Alfaro. He also stopped a point-blank header by Tyler Schleich in the 63rd minute.
The Hunters (11-10-6) then stunned Santa Barbara a minute later. Islas ripped a 60-yard ball into the wind that curled to teammate Chris Lopez near the far post. Lopez’s diving header beat Solis for a 1-0 lead in the 64th minute.
The goal came soon after Santa Barbara coach Todd Heil reinserted Spivey into the game. Heil rested Spivey and a few other starters for the first 20 minutes of the second half.
The rest proved beneficial as Spivey pushed forward and pressured Canoga Park’s defense. In the 73rd minute, he soared for a cross from Alex Navarro and cracked a header on goal. Garcia, however, reacted fast and made a diving save.
He charged at the Hunters again and fired a shot off a corner kick that was knocked to the left side. Alfaro chased down the ball and crossed it back into the box, where Spivey headed it past Garcia to tie the score in the 78th minute.
“That’s why I put him on top. He’s a target for us. We try to put stick some balls in and let him try to get on the end of one, and he got on the end of one for us. Thank goodness,” said Heil
The Dons kept the pressure on in the 15-minute overtime period but couldn’t deliver a golden goal.
But they were golden in the shootout and earned a day of rest before the next round.
GO NOSOTROS!!!!