Los Amigos boys’ soccer denied by rival Santiago in Garden Grove League title match
Los Amigos faced a tall task on Wednesday, desperate for a win against the team it has so often had to contend with for Garden Grove League boys’ soccer championships.
A first-half goal gave the visitors a chance to extend their run of glory, but the Lobos saw their streak of outright league titles end at two at the conclusion of a 2-2 draw against rival Santiago.
Santiago players embraced as they christened the school’s new turf field with the program’s first league championship since 2021, the last in a string of eight consecutive league titles.
Cavaliers coach Carlos Benitez Cruz described the 90-minute battle as “intense.”
“They’re a great team,” Benitez Cruz said of Los Amigos. “We knew what we needed to do. We knew what we have. We improved after we lost against them, and we had a game plan. It worked, but they have guys that can make plays, so towards the end, we just made sure that we were able to cover them.”
The draw allowed Santiago (13-3-5, 8-1-1, 25 points) to keep the table as it was entering the contest, Los Amigos (11-1-5, 7-1-2, 23 points) finishing two points behind the Cavaliers after two five-minute overtime periods ended without a goal.
The Sailors earned the Surf League’s second guaranteed playoff berth, behind league champion Los Alamitos, after Wednesday night’s result.
Erubey Bermudez dashed to the back post to get a touch on a 40-yard free kick from Misael Aguilera, supplying the game’s first goal in the 24th minute. It was the only marker in a half filled with opportunity off set pieces. A Lobos corner kick very nearly ended up in an own goal against the Cavaliers in the 39th minute, an attempted header clearance just clearing the crossbar.
Earlier in the contest, Eduardo Reyes had a quality chance at the right post. Cavaliers goalkeeper Gael Hernandez slid out of position, but a Santiago defender blocked one shot, then Hernandez scrambled back to dive on the ball before Reyes could shoot at an open net in the 18th minute.
Los Amigos experienced misfortune again on a corner kick in the 51st minute, Santiago using the recovery as a chance to break up the field with speed. Leonardo Juarez sprinted up the left wing, laid a foot through the ball, and laced a laser past Lobos goalkeeper Rene Medal (three saves).
“Honestly, it all happened in the moment,” Juarez said. “Just took a touch, didn’t even see it, and then boom, it’s a goal. It just happened quickly. … I heard the fans screaming and everything. What a moment.”
Center attacking midfielder Bryant Pineda, using uncommon vision and his on-ball skills, played a pass through a seam into the right side of the box to give Miguel Granados a look he turned into a 2-1 Santiago advantage in the 67th minute.
“Once it hit me, it was just a rush of emotions,” Pineda said of winning the league title. “I cannot control it. I felt so happy. I felt so proud of all my teammates for doing what they did. This whole season was amazing.”
The Chargers scored early and often in a 5-0 victory on their senior night Wednesday.
Down but not out, Los Amigos quickly equalized a minute later, as Bermudez again rushed the net and got a key touch for his second goal. Hernandez made six saves in the match, but he was beat when he stayed on his line on this occasion.
Bermudez was unavailable for the closing minutes in the second overtime after he had to be walked off the field due to what Los Amigos coach Chris Sandro described as cramps.
“It’s hard to run 80 minutes and then ask for 10 more, and that’s what I had to do,” Sandro said. “Erubey got some cramps and a lot of our guys were tired, … but they gave me everything they got. They left everything on the field, and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
Los Amigos looks ahead to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs after a one-loss season, albeit one that Sandro admits the Lobos didn’t make easy on themselves. The playoff pairings come out on Saturday.
“We have won a number of comeback one-goal games, which means I got a resilient bunch, but it also means that we weren’t figuring our stuff out until the last couple games of the season,” Sandro said. “We felt like we were hitting our stride here. It’s been a very interesting season, to say the least. A lot of growing moments for us.”
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