IRVINE – For the second time in eight days, University played for a title. And for the second time in eight days, the Trojans played the same team and added a plaque to the school’s trophy case.
University defeated Granite Hills, 2-0, to win the CIF Southern California Regional Division IV championship on Saturday.
The Trojans also earned a chance to play in the first CIF State Championships.
It would be hard to bet against the Trojans right now. They have won nine in a row and have allowed only three goals in that span – including a 4-2 victory on Tuesday against Animo Leadership.
Granite Hills of Apple Valley, the top-seeded team in the CIF Southern Section playoffs a week ago but seeded No. 2 in the regional, finished 18-6-5.
University, seeded No. 2 last week but No. 1 in the regional, improved to 18-5-1.
The Trojans peaked at the right time and are living large behind a terrific defense and an efficient-enough offense.
“We knew we had to jump on them early – if we could get an early goal we could dominate play and then memories of last week would start to develop in their mind,” University coach Martin Wallwork said. “One thing we couldn’t do is let them hang around and build confidence and find a second wind and find energy, and unfortunately we did that. We should have been up 2- or 3- or 4-0 in the first half. We didn’t give them a sniff but just missed some chances.
“We told our players we didn’t come this far just to get this far.”
Now they are going far – literally. They will play in Sacramento at Natomas High on Friday, March 13, against Del Mar of San Jose, the third-seeded team that upset No. 1 seed Liberty Ranch in the Northern California Regional final.
The winner between University and Del Mar will become the state’s first Division IV champion.
Even though the score against Granite Hills was closer than last week’s 3-0 victory, the victory Saturday was more one-sided.
Unlike a week ago, there was no feeling out process for the Trojans, and it showed as they dominated all but the first 10 minutes of the second half.
The defense limited the number of serious chances presented to Granite Hills, and the offense did a good job of applying pressure. They scored two goals, but might have scored six.
Kasra Ghoddousi scored in the 16th minute, blasting a shot under the crossbar from 35 yards. Impressively, he did it into the wind.
“Once it left my foot, I knew it was going in,” said Ghoddousi, who will play soccer at UC Davis. “I feel honored to be part of this team.”
Ghoddousi’s blast was one of five first-half shots on goal for the Trojans that kept Granite Hills goalie Phoenix Ragen busy. By contrast, University goalie Lucca Clouthier had six saves, but only one that was concerning.
However, one Cougars shot hit the post in the final minute of the second half.
“It would have been a completely different game if it had been 1-1 going into halftime,” said Rayan Heyati, who scored on a header at 60 minutes after Ghoddousi’s 55-yard assist on a free kick.
“When ([the Cougars) get their momentum they can really play, especially (Acxel Jimenez). But when we have the lead, our defense is really good and we can keep persisting and persisting and they’re not going to score.”
In the second half, University had the wind to its back. The Trojans survived the push by Granite Hills in the first 10 minutes, and Heyati’s header basically turned out the lights.
“Any game we’ve been up 1-0, we’ve never lost,” Clouthier said.
With a 2-0 lead and only 20 minutes to play, the Trojans were as good as gold.
