History on hold
Titans upset Spartans in PKS
In a scene that tugged at heart strings, friends and family of the Strathmore High School boys soccer team rushed the field at Spartan Stadium and enveloped players into their arms after witnessing the top-seeded Spartans historic run fall short in a 2-1 loss in a penalty shootout to the seventh-seeded Titans of Orange Cove in the CIF Central Section Division VI championship game Friday.
Tied 1-1 after two scoreless overtimes, the game was decided by penalty kicks.
Senior midfielder Luis Lopez started things off well for the Spartans by making his shot, but things didn’t go well for the players that followed him.
Sophomore midfielder Jimmy Madrigal Jr.’s shot missed off the crossbar, junior defender Enrique Gomez’s dribbler to the right was blocked and junior striker Osvaldo Ibarra’s sailed above the goal.
Against junior goalkeeper Damian Rodriguez, Orange Cove’s Michael Barraza, Ritchy Valtierra and Edwin Lemus each made their penalty kicks, respectively for the win.
“It sucks,” SHS head coach Jimmy Madrigal Sr. said. “It’s heartbreaking. But we battled. It came down to [penalty kicks] in the end unfortunately. The legs couldn’t take it no more, you could tell when they’re shooting. But we got to live with it. And we’ll bounce back, we’ll bounce back.”
It was a devastating end to the Spartans (14-10-1, 8-2 East Sequoia League) road to winning the program’s first-ever Valley title in school history. But at the end of the day, Madrigal Sr., reminded his team of how far they had come and that they should hold their heads up regardless of the loss.
“I told the boys it’s still something to be proud of,” he said. “We hosted the Valley, we played in the Valley. We got a trophy, it’s not a first place trophy, but we’ll take it. It shows that we were here and it shows that we came to fight too and we’re going to be proud of it still.”
Both teams were held scoreless the first half, but the Spartans struck quickly in the second half. In the second minute, Strathmore’s offense drew out goalie Zachary Ramirez, allowing Ibarra to take a shot from nearly 20 yards out from the right side of the field past Ramirez and into the goal. Orange Cove’s Jordy Aguilar tried to stop the ball, but ended up kicking it further into the net.
Eight minutes later, the Titans (12-12-5) tied the score with a penalty kick from Barraza who ran down the field with his jersey over his head to celebrate.
Strathmore had multiple chances to score in the second half, but couldn’t finish. In the 38th minute of the half, senior midfielder Alejandro Bermudez’s free kick was nearly kicked in by Gomez, but after having it blocked Ibarra attempted to kick in the rebound, but that was blocked, along with junior striker Jose Pena’s shot that followed. And in both overtimes, the Spartans dominated ball possession, but couldn’t score.
“Same thing again, we hit so many in the crossbar,” Madrigal Sr. said. “Their goalie did some awesome saves, man. I just wished we could’ve finished a little bit better. We had — the opportunities were there. So many times, the crowd got pumped up thinking it was in the back of the net and it just didn’t go in. Finishing, that’s what got us. We didn’t finish.”
The Spartans graduate six seniors, including Bermudez — a captain and four-year varsity player who started at Strathmore the same year Mardigal Sr. took over the head coaching position. When he spoke about his seniors and what he’d miss about them, Madrigal Sr. did his best to hold back his emotions.
“Everything about them,” he said. “Being out here with them, their attitude, the vibes they bring here. Hopefully we’ll have some seniors that will do the same next year again and step it up. But yeah I’ve got some seniors that have been with me since they were like 11-years-old and now they’re going to move forward with their lives. Am I going to see them a lot? Probably not, but hopefully I do. But yeah I’ll miss them.”
The future for soccer in Strathmore continues to be bright with captains Ibarra and Gomez returning, along with 10 other juniors. And while their first trip to Valley ended in heartbreak, they’re confident they can return next year and finish with a different outcome.
“We’re going to want to be back here,” Madrigal Sr. said. “We’re going to want to get revenge again, whether it’s Orange Cove, anybody. Whoever it is, if we make it again, we want to get back here and we want to finish. Take care of unfinished business.”