Southwest wins third straight City Championship
EL CENTRO — When Thursday night’s City Championship game between the Central Union and Southwest High boys soccer teams went into penalty kicks at Eagle Field, it was senior Joseph Paez’s time to shine.
Paez, Southwest’s goalie, had been riding his team’s bench for the past two years, and, after holding down a 0-0 tie in regulation, his years of skill-honing were put to the test during penalties.
“I was nervous at first, but I was just trying to cool down and just let the penalties go on,” the senior goalie said.
After the Eagles and Spartans each made two successful shots, Paez was able to force a missed shot from Central’s Miguel Pantoja and block the following two shots to give Southwest its third City Championship in a row.
“He waited, but he practiced every day,” SHS head coach Rafael Contreras said of Paez. “He didn’t miss any practice. Now that it was his time, I told him, ‘Hey, I have all the confidence in you. I’m proud of you because you’ve been two years in a row on the bench and you’re here. Now it’s your time,’ and it showed.”
The game was considered a tie for Imperial Valley League record purposes. The penalty simply determined who got the city trophy.
It was the final regular season game for both teams. Southwest finished 173-6 overall (9-0-3 IVL), while Central finished 12-4-5 (7-1-4 IVL).
For the postseason, coach Contreras looks forward to welcoming back two forwards who were injured during the season.
“It’s going to be a different team with them in,” Contreras said.
Southwest is currently ranked first in CIF-SDS Division III, while Central is ranked fourth.