San Gorgonio downs Victor Valley for crown

There were several high school subjects involved in San Gorgonio’s 2-0 victory over Victor Valley on Saturday night in the CIF Southern California Regional championship game.

First, there was history. It is the first time San Gorgonio has won a regional championship. Many high school students think 10 years ago might as well have been 110 or 210 years ago, but this team has respect for the past.

“They have really bought into the idea that students graduating in the ’80s and ’90s still show their support on social media,” Spartans coach Adrian Villalobos said. “They were smiling all day and talking about making history.”

San Gorgonio finished with a 29-3-1 record, while Victor Valley finished the season with a 18-7 record. San Gorgonio won the CIF Southern Section Division 6 championship early in the week, beating Victor Valley 1-0.

Then there was geometry. Ezequiel Soto-Uriarte seemed to defy conventional angles when he put two corner kicks on the net in the 68th minute. The first one hit the crossbar and was punched away by Victor Valley goalkeeper Emmanuel Lopez. The save gave Soto-Uriarte another corner kick, and this one wrapped up the game when the ball evaded Lopez.

“I figured why not give it a try?” Soto-Uriarte said. “I wanted to get the ball close to the goal.”

Soto-Uriarte plans to play at San Bernardino Valley College next year, and is involved in helping out at his family’s restaurants. Villalobos said Soto-Uriarte is the best team player at taking corner kicks.

“We are lethal on set plays,” Villalobos said.

Health education played a factor for both teams. Both teams played four games from Monday through Saturday. Nagging injuries were a concern for Villalobos and Victor Valley coach Julio Hernandez.

“That works both ways,” Hernandez said. “It’s hard to play a good team twice, and they (San Gorgonio) are a good team. They executed better than we did.”

Victor Valley won four postseason matches which were decided by shootouts.

Despite the Jackrabbits’ success in shootouts, Villalobos was more concerned with playing well defensively.

“I figured if we shut them out, we would find a way to score,” Villalobos said. “Our back line played very well.”

Rather than breeding contempt, both teams developed a mutual respect for each other.

Damian Guzman opened the scoring for San Gorgonio in the ninth minute.

The Spartans had an advantage in time of possession and had better chances, but Villalobos said he thought Victor Valley had good scoring opportunities toward the end of the first half. Matthew Guzman, San Gorgonio’s goalkeeper, jumped high to stop a header just under the crossbar.

Villalobos gave credit to his assistant coach Enrique Orozco. His generous sharing of credit even included trainer Denise Robertson.