SUNSET REGION: Warriors stun Centennial in OT
Western was desperate.
The Warriors had thrown everything they had at Centennial in the first round of the Sunset Region playoffs at Bettye Wilson Park on Tuesday, and neither team had budged.
Defensive efforts by goalkeepers Eduardo Guzman of Western and the Bulldogs’ Julien Mihy kept things tight at 0-0 through regulation.
But just a minute into overtime, Eduardo Hernandez struck for the Warriors.
Hernandez only need one touch to help lift Western (10-7-1) to an upset victory over Northwest League champion Centennial (17-1-1), 1-0.
“It was desperation,” Hernandez said. “We needed a goal to win, to make it to the next round and make history. Western has never won the title, but this could be the first year winning.”
Midfielder Felipe Medina raced down the sideline before crossing the ball to Hernandez, who was waiting in the middle of the field.
When a Centennial defender lunged for the missed header, Hernandez shot the ball past a sprawling Mihy to advance the Warriors into the second round.
Western coach Jorge Cobian was struck dumb as his Warriors charged the field in celebration.
“We’ve had some tough times, through little mistakes that cost us first place (in the Southwest League),” Cobian said. “But now it’s a whole different thing. We worked hard, when school started, throughout the whole season … I’m speechless.”
The Bulldogs went 15-0-1 in league play to capture the Northwest. The Warriors squeaked into the playoffs with the fourth seed from the Southwest.
But none of that seemed to matter to Cobian and his squad as they celebrated.
“Stats go out the window and it’s a whole new season, a whole new mentality,” Cobian said.
Guzman made four saves to earn the shutout. Mihy finished with five saves.
Bishop Gorman 2, Cimarron-Memorial 1 — Connor Zanoni scored on a penalty kick in the second half as the Gaels (18-0-1) edged the Spartans.
Corey Ackley scored early for the Spartans (7-8-4) off of an assist from Edgar Nava-Figueroa, but Gorman answered quickly as Austin Cain tied it up one minute later.
Sean Zaher had the assist for the Gaels.
Palo Verde 4, Bonanza 0 — Alex Shackley scored a goal in each half as the Panthers (15-2-1) cruised past the Bengals (9-5-4).
“These are a great bunch of kids,” Palo Verde coach Kevin Hagood said. “They’ve worked hard for us all year long. I’m really proud of them; they aren’t satisfied with just making playoffs this year, but they really want to go far.”
Max Amster and Shane Panther also scored goals for Palo Verde.
Colton McCann made eight saves to earn the shutout, including a diving grab in the 57th minute to preserve a 1-0 lead.
No one in the crowd appeared more surprised by Shackley’s second goal than the sophomore himself.
“It was a shot on goal, but I didn’t expect it to swerve like it did,” Shackley said. “I didn’t really expect it to go in. I was kind of angry at myself, because it was a poor shot, but it went in.”
Arbor View 3, Clark 1 — Nico Johnson had two assists as the Aggies (10-4-5) topped the Chargers.
Johnson lobbed the ball to Dakota Karas and Michael Snook in the first half to help the Aggies take a 2-1 lead into the break.
Charles Flood scored on an unassisted run in the second half for Arbor View.
Juan Regalado scored on an assist from Salvador Bernal for the Chargers (13-4-2).