3-0 win wraps up IVL crown for Central
EL CENTRO — Some winds are brisk. Some winds are bracing. And some winds are made to bowl you over.
It’s a matter of conjecture to say exactly which sort was buffeting those assembled at Cal Jones Field for Tuesday’s soccer match between the varsity girls’ teams from Central and Brawley Union high schools, but that there was wind cannot be denied. It made its presence felt all night long — chilling the extremities and causing the ball to vector off at angles typically reserved for buckshot waterfowl.
But the wind wasn’t the real story of the night, the real story was the Spartans, who defeated the Wildcats handily, 3-0, to claim their fourth consecutive Imperial Valley League title.
Central seemed utterly undaunted by the elements, even as those in the grandstands huddled together under blankets for warmth.
True, they spent a few early minutes bunched up on their side of the field as Brawley took advantage of the gust at their back, but it wasn’t long before the Spartans adjusted, keeping the ball on the ground to begin mounting their usual rush of hair-raising assaults on goal.
Every Central attack brought with it a sense of heady danger — players flying down the field in concert, connected by a series of well-executed through-balls — a score always in the offing — an illustration of the socalled “beautiful game”.
Given enough bites at the apple, the Spartans are bound to get to the core. And so they did.
The first strike came at minute 19, with freshman Alexis Garcia receiving the ball “hard and on the ground” (in accordance with the wishes of the Spartan sideline) on a corner kick and lofting it over the head of the Wildcat goalie for the score.
Shortly thereafter, junior Melissa Dayleth Palacios got the ball out ahead on a solo break and followed Garcia’s lead with a soft parabola of her own to make it 2-0, which would be the score at the half
The second half tilted the action even further toward the Spartans.
Before they had been working against the wind, now they’d get to work with it.
Brawley’s chances in the first half had largely been long-balls through the air. Without that option, their offense withered, enabling Central to apply constant pressure.
That this pressure only led to one additional goal (again from Garcia, at minute 50, from the right wing) was due to a combination of saves, missed shots, and Central emptying the bench toward the end of the game.
Speaking after the match concluded, Spartan Coach Ramon Lopez, expressed satisfaction with the result, admitting that the team exceeded expectations in the first half by scoring against the elements, having originally expected to be looking at “zero-zero” heading into the break. But he gave them credit for executing the game plan.
“It’s harder to score when you have the wind against you, but we knew that if we put it on the ground, it would definitely be in our favor,” he said.
He praised the team for coming together to win IVL yet again. “Every year it’s a challenge to get them to the level we expect, but we’re blessed to have very talented, very disciplined girls. Discipline always pays off,” he said.
Challenges loom for the Spartans, who close out their regular season against Southwest on Tuesday.
They are competing in CIF-SDS Division II in this year’s playoffs.
The IVL title guarantees them at least one home game, but, per Lopez, “We’re not expecting anything easy.”
“I just hope and pray we finish up the season healthy so we can give it a good run.”