Baldwin Park Head Coach Ricardo Mira Hoists CIF Championship Plaque
By Tony Solorzano
(Downey) – A late goal by Andres Gonzalez lifted Baldwin Park to a 1-0 victory over Carpinteria to claim the CIF Southern Section Division 5 Boys Soccer title Saturday afternoon at Warren High’s Justice Stadium.
Nobody really expected the Braves (19-3-2) to make it to the Finals after losing all but one of their players from the previous season; however, two overtime victories in the Playoffs put the Braves into the match against the heavily-favored Warriors (20-3-3) Saturday afternoon. Carpinteria had already knocked off the top seeded La Canada in the quarterfinals, with a 1-0 overtime win.
“It’s definitely a surprise, I had a great group of player the last two years,” Coach Ricardo Mira said after the victory, “I got a great system down, I got a great group of players and assistant coaches, so we’re enjoying the moment.”
In the first half, both teams failed to hit the net, but the play was fierce throughout. In the 21st minute, the Braves’ Christian Garcia was driving towards the Warriors’ goal when he was tied up by the legs by the Warriors’ Mohammed Mehai. While still tangled up, Mehai flipped Garcia by the legs then, when Garcia got up on his feet, shoved him back to the ground, earning himself a yellow card and a free kick for the Braves. However, Warriors goalkeeper Erik Rojas kept the Braves out of the net for the entire half.
Late in the second half, the Braves broke the scoreless drought in the 70th minute. Gonzalez and his teammate, Jaime Reyes, were deep inside the Warriors’ goal box when Reyes’ goal shot deflected off one of the defenders and rolled free to Gonzalez, who put the ball off the nearside post to give the Braves the 1-0 lead. Despite a number of attempts by the Warriors to even the score, goalkeeper Dayker Villalobos kept the Warriors off the board until the final horn sounded.
The Braves’ victory was not only the first championship in school history but also first championship title since the 1991 football team claimed the CIF Southern Section Division IV title.
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