Lions Repeat as CCS Champions in Boys Soccer

Lincoln’s Boys Soccer Team is the first team at Lincoln to ever repeat as CCS champions.

Alicia Gomez, Daniel Perez, and Daniel Ceja|March 16, 2017

(Alicia Gomez / Lincoln Lion Tales)

Yesterday, March 15, 2017, the Lincoln Boys Varsity Soccer team received their medals for winning back-to-back CCS titles.

The championship game was held at Valley Christian on Saturday March 4,2017 from 6:22 p.m to 8:34 p.m. The game was between Lincoln High School and Watsonville High School.

At 6:22 the ref blew his whistle and the game kicked off. Immediately after the game started, both teams tried to assert their dominance over the game. Both Lincoln and Watsonville played high energy soccer.

This style of play is informally known as “Heavy Metal Football.” To sum it up, Heavy Metal Football consists of constant pressure on the opponent, both offensively and defensively.

In the first half, Lincoln had many chances to score, but they did not take the opportunities given to them. Watsonville, in the first half, was “quiet.” They did not create or have many chances to score.

The second half did not have the same level of energy or excitement the first half had. Varsity Team captain Guillermo Hernandez said “We started strong, then started getting discouraged a bit as the game rolled on.”

Even though many of the players were getting tired, the second half still carried its own excitement. In the second half, the referee made many controversial calls, most were against Lincoln. Many Lincoln players were fouled and the referee did not call it a foul. If there was foul it was in favor of Watsonville High School.

In the second half, Lincoln players received yellow cards. As the clock wound down, both teams grew more desperate to score, but they could not. The clock went down, the referee blew the whistle, and the second half ended in 0-0 draw.

After 80 minutes of regular time, the score was still 0-0. The game was then forced into Extra Time. In Extra Time the same rules still apply, but now instead of two 40 minute halves, there are two 10 minute halves. All 20 minutes were to be played, no matter what the score line is. If the game is still tied after E.T., they will be declared co-champions.

The referee blew his whistle, and E.T. began. Three minutes into the half, Ramon Inda-Felix scored to put Lincoln in the lead. At this point all Lincoln had to do was defend their lead to become CCS champions. In the second half of E.T. Watsonville tried their best to tie the game, but they were no match for Lincoln’s defense. “We kept an optimistic mindset,” Guillermo Hernandez said, “we knew we could beat any team as long as we worked for it.”

Worked they did, and the result? Back to back CCS championships, something no other team at Lincoln has ever accomplished.