West Ranch soccer’s Danny Paredes darted up the home sideline with his hand to his ear in Hulk Hogan-esque fashion, surrounded by screaming teammates.
After an emotional 73 minutes of play, Paredes scored the goal that pulled the Wildcats out of a potential loss as they settled for a 1-1 draw with Saugus on Tuesday afternoon at West Ranch.
“You don’t even know,” Paredes said. “Scoring that goal feels amazing. To shut them up.”
Four minutes prior to the goal, the Centurions’ Anthony Gutierrez was issued a red card, therefore removing him from the game.
Saugus (8-6-5 overall, 2-3-2 in Foothill League) is known for its physical play, but coaches on both sides acknowledged that the play had gotten out of hand.
“I feel like my team kind of lost their cool based on certain circumstances in the game,” said Saugus coach Seth Groller. “They thought certain things were happening that were unfair and they let that affect them.”
The Cents started the game on a positive note, though, and scored their first goal five minutes into the second half.
West Ranch (9-2-3, 5-1-1) quickly adjusted, applying speed and pressure in a high press, then switched to a 3-5-2 formation towards the end of the game in an effort to score.
“Definitely towards the last seven minutes we picked it up a little bit, our intensity up and then we finished off and got a tie,” Paredes said. “I’m fine with that.”
With the draw, the Wildcats remain in second place in the Foothill league, falling only to Hart and tying Canyon in league play.
“We’re doing well,” said Paredes. “It’s just little bump against hart, a little bump against canyon, but we’re going to come back and win league.”
Canyon 1, Golden Valley 0
Adam Rodriguez scored for the Cowboys (5-12-3, 3-3-1) in the 38th minute with an assist from Shane Kelley. Chase Moynihan was credited with the shutout.
Canyon next plays at Hart on Friday, while the Grizzlies (3-11-1, 0-7) hit the road to play Saugus.
Hart 5, Valencia 1
Jaden Nguyen scored four minutes into the game with an assist from Lawrence Luna. Jacob Tomaswzeski scored in the 13th minute on a penalty kick, then Luna scored a goal from himself in the 20th minute. Brandon Martinez was credited with the assist.
Jesus Alfonso scored with some help from Jose Leon in the 34th minute. Alfonso scored once more in the 65th minute. Joseph Ochoa had the assist to wrap up the scoring for the Indians (13-6-1, 7-0).
Hart hosts Canyon on Friday and the Vikings (3-8-4, 1-4-2) host West Ranch.
