The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
When Lakewood boys’ soccer returned to practice on Monday, they knew this would be their final week together.
After a historic season led them to the CIF-SS finals, and a controversial call plagued the end of their PK defeat against Etiwanda last Saturday, the team’s mentality could have strayed in a number of different directions.
But when head coach Alex Diaz saw his team back on campus, they were the ones questioning his demeanor.
“I get here and the boys are like, ‘Coach, why are you so quiet?’” Diaz recalled. “We’re gonna make it to the final, man. Believe in us.”
That belief was challenged on Thursday night, but the Lancers found a way to deliver a thrilling overtime victory over Torres High, winning 2-1 on a golden goal from senior Jonathan Romero. The victory moves Lakewood to the CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional Final on Saturday evening at Oceanside.
Just five minutes away from another round of PK’s, the Lancers earned a corner in the 90th minute, 10 minutes into the lone overtime period. Christian Valcic sent a cross into the middle of the penalty area, where Romero was able to get his head to it and turn a shot on goal.
A Torres defender headed the ball out of the Toros goal, but he had both of his feet well behind the goal line. The assistant referee immediately signaled that the ball had crossed for a goal, setting off a delayed celebration for the home Lancers.
“My center back told me to go back, but I was like ‘No, I’m gonna stay middle,’” explained a wise Romero after his game-winner. “Because I knew my player was gonna send it right to the middle towards me. So I was just waiting for it right there in the middle.”
“We’ve found ways to win games,’ said Diaz of his team. “Johnny hasn’t scored a goal all playoffs, but I told him he was gonna get one when it really mattered … When he hugged me over there, we were crying because I told him that he deserved this more than anybody else. His hard work, what he does for us off the ball is incredible. It’s all him.”
Lakewood was disappointed to find itself in overtime after thoroughly outplaying their visitors for the first 40 minutes. The Lancers had a 7-0 advantage in shots before Torres got anything going toward goal, as Michael Gutierrez and Brian Pioquinto put on relentless pressure with their trademark pace and purpose.
The Lancers finally broke through in impressive fashion in the 32nd minute, when the Torres defense had a tough time clearing its lines. Pioquinto did a brilliant job controlling the ball in the opposing penalty area, and instead of looking for a teammate, he had the confidence to look for goal. His curling shot went over the Torres goalkeeper and tucked just underneath the crossbar, giving the home side a deserved 1-0 lead.
Even with the lead, the Lancers knew they’d left some golden opportunities out there at halftime.
“That goal was big. I mean, we deserved at least two or three more,” said Diaz of his team’s first-half dominance. “But this is soccer, and if you don’t put your chances away, they put one away and you’re back at 1-1 and trying to get back into a rhythm. It took us a while because now we started playing long ball and got away from what we do, so my thing was, get up, get off this half, regroup, and then try to get one in overtime.”
The visitors were able to find their way into the game in the second half, with their first shot on target finding the back of the net. After winning their first corner of the night in the 49th minute, Torres had the ball bouncing around in the Lakewood penalty area for a few seconds. Finally, senior Edwin Huerta got behind the ball and sent a low strike through traffic, tucking it inside the far post for an equalizing goal.
It was not only a game-changing goal, it was also a rare goal allowed by the Lakewood defense. The Lancers had secured four consecutive clean sheets coming into Thursday’s match, putting together a 390-minute scoreless streak during their playoff run.
The Torres equalizer was also the first second-half goal Lakewood has conceded on its home field this season, putting the Lancers back on their heels.
The rest of regulation went back and forth, with both sides seeing the ball and generating chances. Lakewood was unable to regain its dominance from the first half, surely feeling the mental and physical toll of a long playoff run with now three overtime appearances.
“I just told them to breathe, it’s a new game, let’s take over again,” said Diaz of his speech before OT. “This is the side we like to attack to, all our goals have been to this side, so let’s go get our goal. Once we got to overtime, I told myself I need to breathe and relax and let them know I’m behind them and I’m not going to stop coaching them until we get our goal. And gladly we did.”
Lakewood was the more aggressive side, getting called for 16 fouls to Torres’ six. The Lancers also had a 17-7 edge in shots, led by four from Gutierrez and three apiece from Pioquinto and Romero.
The Lancers will have their final practice of the season on Friday, and then have one more chance to come together as a team and find a way to win. If they do, they’ll bring home the 2024 CIF State SoCal Regional title.
Saturday’s regional final will be hosted by top-seeded Oceanside High, and is currently scheduled for a 5 p.m. start. The Pirates are 18-1-4 and have not surrendered a goal in their last eight matches dating back to January 25.
