GONZALES — In a game that featured many thrills and chills, the Gonzales High boys’ soccer team ended a long season with a 2-1 loss to Roseland University Prep (Santa Rosa) in the last minute of overtime in the NorCal Division IV Championship on Saturday night.
Held at Rabobank Stadium in Salinas, the matchup between the Spartans and the Knights was tied at 1-1 after regulation, and the two teams settled in for a 15-minute overtime period.
Knights forward Miguel Valenzuela kicked the game-winner with the game clock winding on a booming kick against three Spartan defenders, including goalie Luis Cabada, who could not reach the winning shot.
Gonzales head coach Miguel Vidauri guided his team to the title game after the Spartans won their last 13 games before the setback on Saturday.
“We played really well tonight until they got the winning goal,” Viduari said. “I am so proud of the boys for their work on the field, although I felt the best team did not win. Roseland is a good team and they deserve high praise. We had so many opportunities to win the game coming into the half but could not take advantage.”
Roseland head coach Jose Espinoza praised the Spartans and his own team for the outstanding soccer they played at the championship level.
“It was one of the most amazing games and turned into a back-and-forth battle,” Espinoza said. “They have great players and we have great players. Even if we had lost, we would have been happy because it was a hell of game.”
In the first half, Angel Guzman scored a goal for Roseland with just over five minutes to play. Gonzales had held the Knights to a few shots previous to the Guzman goal by playing solid defense, led by Luis Cabada at goalie.
Gonzales scored the tying goal in the closing minutes of the first half as forward Jorge Uribe scored on a cannon shot that Figueroa had no chance to stop. The half ended moments later with game tied at 1-1.
“That goal by Jorge Uribe was one of the best shots I’ve ever seen at this level,” Viduari said. “I had hopes that the goal would send them coming out with momentum in the second half.”
Gonzales came out firing in the second half, with at least six good shots missing their mark or were smothered by Knights goalie Diego Figueroa. Spartans freshman Emmanuel Valdez would have given Gonzales a 2-1 lead but his shot just hit the post.
The missed shot did take away from the excitement in the stands as the Gonzales side kept cheering every shot attempt from the Spartans.
Gonzales had a chance to put the game away as they were awarded a penalty shot when Uribe was hammered by the Knights defense.
Senior midfielder Omar Gonzalez was chosen to kick the ball, but his shot was stopped by Figueroa as all the air came out of Rabobank Stadium.
“We chose Omar to kick the penalty because he’s our leader all the way from warmups and until we get on and off the field,” Viduari said. “Omar deserved the opportunity to kick the penalty shot and the Roseland goalie just made the play he needed to make.”
Gonzales had a couple of more shots in overtime as did Roseland, but it took the timely shot by Valenzuela to decide the contest.
Vidauri was assisted this season by returning coach Michael Flores and new assistants Dany Pulido and Eliazar Trenado.
“Having the coaches we had was essential when you have a good team,” Vidauri said. “There is no way we would have done as well without our coaching staff.”
First-team All-League players and midfielders Omar Gonzalez and Jose Camacho were saddened by the loss but still thankful for being members of this year’s Spartan boys’ soccer team. Both Gonzalez and Camacho played midfield.
“I think we did good, no one would have thought we could be where we are,” Gonzalez said. “I’m just proud of my boys and everyone that supported us throughout the season. Our coaches were great, especially after I came back after missing last season with an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament). The coaches taught us many new things this season and encouraged us to win league, CCS and take it from there. They knew we have a team that could compete.”
Camacho echoed Gonzalez’s belief that this was a special team that could accomplish great things.
“I thought we were going to take it all,” Camacho said. “This team all the way around is really strong. I see good things now and in the future of this team and things of that nature. It was just unfortunate that we lost tonight. I just want to say thank you to all the family and friends that have supported us, especially when we started CCS and in this NorCal tournament.”
Other All-League players for Gonzales were: Jorge Uribe (League MVP) and forward Ulisses Mancillas. Uribe was the leading scorer for Gonzales this season, finishing with 28 goals.
The roster of the CCS Division IV champion Spartans included: Luis Cabada, Jose Camacho, Jorge Uribe, Ulisses Mancillas, Edgar Santiago, Matthew Arreola, Jorge Lara, Luis Benavides, Emmanual Valdez, Jonathan Medina, Omar Gonzalez, Angel Rodriguez, Kevin Tavarez, Daniel Garcia, Sebastian Ramirez, Peter Tejeda, Miguel Ibarra, Vicente Davila, Isaiah Esquivel, Diego Blanco and Joel Lorenzo.
Previous to the NorCal Championship game with Roseland, Gonzales had a first-round home game with Summerville Union of Tuolumne that they won by a 3-1 score, and then beat Milpitas in the semifinal, 2-0.
Summerville took the lead by a 1-0 score, but Mancillas led the way with two goals and Luis Benevides added an insurance goal.
“Summerville was a physical and fast team,” Vidauri said. “If we had not played our best defense, they had the ability to pull off an upset.”
In the semifinal contest, Mancillas scored the first point of the game as he dribbled to his left and rifled a shot for goal. Uribe scored the clincher with a shot in the second half.
Gonzales finished the season with 20 wins, three losses and two ties. The 20 wins were a season record for the Spartans.
“While I would have loved to have seen us win the game for the City of Gonzales, I am just proud how the fans from Gonzales showed up for the games we played here in Salinas,” Vidauri said. “I’d like to see us get back to a championship and win at home in front of those fans that have been loyal to us. I saw so many alumni go to the games and also many former players. That was great to see and for our young players to see.”
A parade to celebrate the Gonzales varsity soccer team’s historic season is planned for next Thursday, March 20, at 2 p.m. in Spartan Alley.
