Arvin boys soccer falls in Division IV title game
| Sunday, Mar 01 2009 02:17 AM
Last Updated Wednesday, Mar 25 2009 06:17 PM
Images
FRESNO, CA SPT DJB ROOSEVELT VS. ARVIN 2/28/09 (LEFT TO RIGHT) Arvin's Miguel Angel Madrigal and Roosevelt's Jorge Hernandez race to get the ball during the Division IV boys soccer final on Saturday. Roosevelt won with a score of 4-0.
FRESNO — From the moment his players stepped on the bus and made the drive north to Fresno, Arvin coach Mauricio Lobos knew his team would be in for difficult undertaking against top-seeded Fresno-Roosevelt in the Central Section Division IV championship.
The sixth-seeded Bears were without seven starters, including first-string goalkeeper Michael Mosqueda, because of either injuries or a red-card discipline during their playoff run.
Arvin’s chances for an upset took another hit in the 10th minute as starting goalkeeper Miguel Gutierrez was kicked in the face and knocked unconscious for a brief moment. Gutierrez was taken off the field and later to a nearby hospital after the game.
Junior varsity goalkeeper Adan Garay was called to duty in what will be his biggest varsity game of his young career.
It’s his only varsity game.
Roosevelt, two-time Central Section champions in Division III, scored three first-half goals en route to a 4-0 win — the Rough Riders’ third straight section championship.
“We expected it to be a hard game,” Lobos said. “We never counted on that we’d have to use our third goalkeeper. “I’m proud of him. He did the best he could.”
Luis Saavedra got the hosts on the board 17 minutes in, and 5 minutes later Omar Santoyo made it 2-0. Marco Cisneros made it 3-0 with 7 minutes left in the first half, and Victor Garcia scored 20 minutes into the second half.
“Offensively and defensively it was probably one of our best games,” Roosevelt coach Joel Munoz said. “We have 16 seniors on the team and for a lot of those guys it’s their third one. To see them go out on top is really neat.
“We also got all 23 of our players on the field. From a coaching standpoint, you couldn’t ask for anything more than to get all of your players on the field in a championship.”
— Fresno Bee reporter Margaret Slaby contributed to this story.
