SALINAS VALLEY — Soledad High boys soccer team advanced to the Central Coast Section Division V semifinals after defeating No. 7 seed Cristo Rey in penalty kicks on Saturday night at Everett Alvarez High School.
The Aztecs are the second seed in the division and will play El Camino on Wednesday night in Soledad. El Camino, the third seed in the division, beat sixth-seed Latino College Prep, 3-1, on Saturday.
Aztecs head coach Genaro Espinoza praised his team for their confident play against Cristo Rey.
“It was a game where we went from playing with nerves and missing confidence and we developed and grew as the game went,” Espinoza said. “We had to adapt quickly to the field and the boys showed great resilience and character as they had each other’s backs, and that is what won us the game.”
Soledad’s Jesus Ortiz scored two goals to reach 25 goals for the season and Julian Valdez was credited with two assists. Scoring in penalty kicks were: Joshua Guzman, Adrian Sanchez, Daniel Magana and Jason Rico.
The 2-2 game went into penalty kicks after regulation play and the overtime periods.
Gonzales, the No. 4 seed in Division III, lost in the quarterfinals at home by a 4-1 score against fifth-seed Christopher of Gilroy on Saturday night at Dick Force Stadium.
“Macario Chavarin scored our goals on an assist from Jorge Uribe,” said Spartans head coach Miguel Vidauri. “We couldn’t recover after halftime after losing a key player to a head injury.”
The Gonzales girls team were seeded No. 8 in Division V and lost 4-1 to No. 1 seed Terra Nova in Oceana on Saturday. Janelle Garcia scored for the Spartans and Andrea Amador assisted on the goal.
“Not the finish we wanted, but we’re proud of the heart, effort and resilience this team showed all season long,” said Gonzales head coach Jose Tejeda. “A huge thank you to everyone who drove the two hours to support our girls. Your energy means everything to us.”
