It took 28 matches, and about 1,000 miles of travel logged in a four-day period, but the Chula Vista High School boys soccer team finally proved it was on top of its game — and the Southern California regional championship playoffs.
The Spartans defeated top-seeded El Camino Real, 4-2, in the SoCal regional championship game last Saturday in Woodland Hills to capture the Division I state title.
It was a long road for sixth-seeded Chula Vista, which endured three road trips out of San Diego County, including a 350-mile trek to suburban Fresno, before ending its dream season with a firm stamp of mission accomplished.
“When we lost in PKs to Cathedral Catholic in the Open Division semifinals, we thought our season was over,” Spartan head coach Ruben Oliveira said. “But to get a second chance, and to win the state title, it’s crazy.”
Chula Vista is the third Metro Conference team to win a state regional championship, following Mater Dei Catholic (2009) and Southwest (2014).
Second chance
The Spartans dropped their opening two games of the season, then reeled off a marathon 21-game unbeaten streak (15 wins, six ties) to end regular season play with the team’s second consecutive Metro-Pacific League championship.
Chula Vista received the No. 2 seed in the ensuing San Diego Section Open Division playoffs and edged seventh-seeded La Costa Canyon, 1-0, in a quarterfinal-round match played Feb. 24 at Eastlake High School to extend its unbeaten streak to 22 games (16-0-6).
The win catapulted the Spartans to a semifinal-round paring against third-seeded Cathedral Catholic, which had eliminated sixth-seeded Coronado, 3-2, in an overtime shootout in the quarterfinals.
The Spartans and Dons battled through regulation deadlocked at two goals apiece and then a scoreless overtime period before entering the shootout tie-breaker to determine which team advanced to the division championship game.
Cathedral Catholic won the tie-breaker 4-3 to meet top-seeded Torrey Pines in the Open Division title match.
The loss left Oliveira and his team with an empty feeling.
“We gave up two goals on set plays, but I thought we out-played them and out-shot them,” the CVHS coach explained. “It was tough. To lose on PKs is tough.”
The Dons went on to capture the Open Division championship with a 2-1 overtime win over the Falcons. It was their first section title since 2012 after previously winning seven titles in an eight-year span.
But quiet rumblings began that Chula Vista’s otherwise exemplary season might not quite be over.
Seeding for the Southern California regional championship tournament is done by school enrollment level, thus placing section champion Cathedral Catholic in the Division III bracket. With section runner-up Torrey Pines receiving the No. 4 seed in Division I, that seemed to open up space for the Spartans, who had earned the No. 2 section ranking throughout the regular season.
“We thought our season was over but our athletic director, Craig Wilson, talked to section commissioner Jerry Schniepp, who thought we had a good chance to get into the state playoffs,” Oliveira said. “So, we kept practicing even though we were out of the section playoffs. We were a little downcast but hoping we could get in.”
The section’s divisional soccer championship finals concluded March 7 and the state CIF office released the regional pairings the following day. The Spartans received the No. 6 seed in Division I.
It may not have been the best seed, but Chula Vista’s season continued.
“On Sunday, when we found out, the guys were excited,” Oliveira said. “That Monday, we had a great practice. Everyone was motivated at having a second chance.”
The Spartans traveled to El Toro High School for the tournament’s opening quarterfinal match the next day, March 10, and defeated the third-seeded Chargers, 1-0, on a goal by Isai Aguila and a shutout goalkeeping performance by David Loya.
At this point, Oliveira said the team’s “real adventure” began.
“We were hoping that seventh-seeded Santa Ana would win, so that we would have a home game in the semifinals, but Santana Ana lost, 2-1, to Buchanan, which I knew wasn’t in Southern California. Then I found out where it was, up past the middle of the state, it meant we had to travel all the way up there.”
Oliveira credited the school’s Associated Student Body organization in helping book a charter bus and hotel accommodations for the long trip just two days after the team’s quarterfinal victory. The team left Wednesday evening and arrived early Thursday morning. The semifinal game against second-seeded Buchanan was Thursday afternoon.
“It was a seven-hour bus trip, with stopping an hour for a meal and to stretch our legs,” Oliveira noted. “We got in about 1:15 a.m. and had to check out of the hotel at noon. Luckily I found some film of one of Buchanan’s games and the whole team had time to watch it.
“We slept in, had a good breakfast and watched some film. That helped out a lot.”
The state track and field championship meet is held at Buchanan High School in a stadium about twice the size of Southwestern College. The school site also includes its own soccer-specific stadium.
“The field had nice dimensions, perfect grass,” the CVHS coach said. “We had our own locker room, the pre-game was set up well.”
Oliveira noted that Buchanan had defeated Servite, 3-0, then ranked No. 1 in California, and also posted a 3-1 win over Arizona power Brophy Prep. At 20-2-1, the Bears would present a formidable opponent, Oliveira judged.
But he also did not dismiss his team’s chances.
“The first 20 minutes of the game, we attacked like crazy,” Oliveira said. “We ended up scoring 15 to 20 minutes into the game, then we had a chance at a wide-open net to make it 2-0, but we shot the ball over the net.
“Those kids were big kids, really organized. But we had practiced defending corner kicks and free kicks and our defense was solid.
“The last 10 to 15 minutes, they picked it up, pushed everyone forward but two defenders. They were attacking. Our defense kept them off the scoreboard. In fact, one of our players, Iraq Blanco, cleared the ball off the goal line when it got past our ’keeper.”
The first-half goal by Orlando Vazquez turned out to be the game-winner.
On the road again
That set up the state championship match that ensuing Saturday, March 14, at top-seeded El Camino Real, which sported an impressive 27-0-5 record on the season.
“We had an early report that Torrey Pines won and we thought the state championship game would be somewhere in San Diego County, but the report proved to be erroneous and El Camino Real actually defeated Torrey Pines, 1-0, in overtime,” Oliveira explained. “So, it was back on the road again.”
The game was played near one of the warmest spots in the nation that weekend, with temperatures hovering just under the 100-degree mark. “It started to cool down as the game went on, but it was still pretty warm even at 5 p.m.,” the CVHS coach said.
The Spartans took a 1-0 lead off a corner kick. Giessy Uribe hit the post on the first shot by the Spartans, then Giovanni Garcia hit the El Camino Real goalkeeper on the next shot before Vazquez finally put the rebound over the goal line.
The Conquistadors would come back to tie the match at a goal apiece. But, with about 20 minutes left in the second half, Alan Quintero scored off a perfect set-up pass by Brandan Canales to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead.
El Camino Real came back to notch the equalizer just three minutes later.
“That kind of took the momentum away from us,” Oliveira explained. “We had a decent crowd and, after some prodding by me, started to cheer for us, and our guys eventually came around.”
Garcia made it 3-2 Chula Vista with about eight minutes remaining in regulation play by converting a pass from Aguila.
Blanco then upped the Spartan advantage to 4-2 with about three minutes to play.
“That sealed it for us,” Oliveira said.
The CVHS coach noted that Loya, who had been injured on a collision earlier in the game, made a spectacular diving save with the Spartans nursing a 3-2 lead to prevent the game from being tied.
“David made a huge save there, and he made so many great saves for us throughout the season and the playoffs,” Oliveira said.
When the final whistle blew, a massive celebration erupted on the Chula Vista sideline. Apparently eliminated in the section semifinals, the Spartans (19-2-7) had received a second chance and won the state title.
“The players were very emotional, there were tears of joy,” Oliveira said. “There was water everywhere.”
However, the CVHS coach said his team did not feel stunned by what had happened.
“We knew we were good enough to win it all,” the said. “The guys really bonded. They were together for basically that whole week —either playing, practicing or traveling by bus to the game sites. That helped us a lot, I think, in the end.
“To have coached so many great teams and, now to win a state title, I really can’t put it into words. We got the chance to prove ourselves at the top level. I think everyone is still on cloud nine.
“This state title is huge for our program because now college scouts will pay attention to us.”
In San Diego — and all points northward.
