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Santa Rosa Shocks Three-Time Defending Champion Santa Ana,
Claiming First Hyundai California Community College Men's Soccer Championship Crown
LEMOORE, Calif.
- In 100 previous contests, Santa Ana College lost just one men's soccer game
en
route to three straight Hyundai-Californian State Community College championships,
with a victory
in Game No. 101 meaning an unprecedented fourth consecutive title.
But the Dons were
unable to beat Santa Rosa goalie Jeff Gibson, as a marker by forward Hugo Garcia
in the 78th minute was enough to propel the Bear Cubs to a 1-0 triumph and their
first state
crown.
Gibson made three
spectacular saves in the first half, robbing Randy Zepeda, Santiago Galvez and
Victor Ferrel. For his effort, Gibson earned a share of the tournament MVP award
with defensive
midfielder John Lopez. Both are also Santa Rosa's co-captains.
The physical contest
saw the sides combine for 48 fouls, including five yellow-card cautions.
Prior to the lone
goal, Santa Ana was whistled for a foul at the top of its own penalty box. On
the restart, while Ishmael Alvarado ran left on a fake, Andres Flores tapped
the ball a few inches
to Canela for a shot. The ball caught a piece of the Dons' wall, bounded high
into the air and
through the upper left-hand corner of the net past 'keeper Daniel Morales.
The triumph avenged
a state semifinals setback to Santa Ana in 1999. It also prevented the Dons
from matching Foothill College for the all-time record of five state championships.
Santa Rosa finishes
the season as the lone undefeated team in the state at 21-0-4, and could claim
the national title after knocking Santa Ana off its perch as the nation's top-rated
team.
QUOTES:
Lopez: "Some
thought we'd be lucky to be here after just getting past Allan Hancock in the
semifinals." SR scored in injury time to tie, then beat the Bulldogs in
overtime, 3-2, on
Saturday. "There would be no title if we didn't win that one. Then against
Santa Ana, we just
depended on each other and worked hard. We really are a family, so just because
we were playing
Santa Ana didn't mean we would have to do any different to win."
Gibson: "I
made some good saves and was on top of my game the last two days. But that shot
off the
goal post sure helped." In the 61st minute, a 22-yard direct free kick
by Dons forward Julio
Laguna struck the base of the right post and was eventually cleared by Bear
Cubs defenders.
"We might have settled down earlier if we were not the underdog, but it
did give us a reason to
prove that we could beat them, too."
Reported by
Nick Pellegrino, Soccer Championship PR Director
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