Stellar defense seals SHS win
Ibarra scores game-winner for Spartans
For the first time in three years, Strathmore High School’s boys soccer team opened East Sequoia League with a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Granite Hills at Jacob Rankin Stadium Wednesday evening.
The Spartans’ (5-6-1, 1-0 ESL) game-winning goal came by way of junior captain and striker, Osvaldo Ibarra, four minutes into the first overtime. Racing down the right side of the field, Ibarra received a pass from junior forward Ivan Cid, which he sent sailing into the back of the goal from 20-yards out.
“He got frustrated in the first half [so] I moved him positions, and I told him, ‘I’m moving you for a reason because you’re frustrated on top right now. I’m going to put you back. When I put you back, you’re going to score’,” SHS head coach Jimmy Madrigal said. “Right when the overtime started I go, ‘Now you’re going to go forward and now you’re going to go score.’ Right when he got in there, he scored. So it worked out. Good thing he kept his cool. I’m proud of him.”
Strathmore had to comeback for the win after giving up an early second-half goal to Granite Hills senior Ivan Robles four minutes into the second half for a 1-0 lead. But while the Grizzlies (38-1, 0-1 ESL) came out strong in the first half and to start the second, it was the Spartans’ defense — led by junior captain and midfielder Enrique Gomez — that sealed the win for the Spartans.
“We have a lot of opportunities and we don’t capitalize on those opportunities and that’s the result of the game,” GHHS head coach Pedro Gonzalez said.
Beginning midway through the second half, Strathmore’s defense limited Granite Hills’ ability to move the ball and take shots. From then on it was the Spartans’ offense that was in control of the game which allowed for a game-tying goal from SHS senior midfielder Luis Lopez in the 28th-minute of the second half.
“I’m surprised,” Madrigal said about the defense. “I took a defender out. I pushed three forwards, I only played three defenders flat and our defense, man [Enrique Gomez] on the back, a captain, I mean he leads the team really good. He’s a good leader back there, he moves our team. I trusted him.”
Gomez, along with senior Ricardo Reyes and junior Zack Atkison gave up less than five shots on goal to the Grizzlies in the second half.
“It was good that we took it in overtime,” Madrigal said. “First half we started really bad, we were not playing at all good. For some reason they were frustrated, but halftime I just told them, ‘You guys need to relax, calm down.’ I moved some players around who I thought were struggling and the changes that I did worked. I moved them around like crazy today till we got the right formation on the field and we did it.”
It was a good start in ESL for Strathmore, but the Spartans have a big test ahead of them when they host rival and defending CIF Central Section Division V and ESL champion Lindsay on Friday at 6 p.m.
“Huge rival, we’re looking forward to it,” Madrigal said. “We like when we play tough teams and they’re the talk [around] the whole town. We’re going to go in there prepared and I know they’re going to play twice as hard because last year they got pretty upset when we took their victory away. They had [12] wins in a row and I know they’re going to come back hard, so we got to be prepared for that.”
Granite Hills travels to Woodlake for a 6 p.m. game Friday.