When Hart High boys soccer head coach Gio Salinas took over the program just days before the already unplanned season got underway, a primary goal, he said, was to keep up the program’s winning tradition.
Mission accomplished.
With a win over Valencia High, the Indians once again claimed the Foothill League title, and doing so, once again, with a dramatic 2-1 win Tuesday, rallying from a 1-goal deficit with 15 minutes left to take another league crown.
In February 2020, the Indians secured the league title with a 2-1 victory over Saugus that came on a goal scored with about a minute remaining in regulation.
“We’re more of an attack-oriented team,” Salinas said, adding, “as soon as the opponent (lets) their guard (down), we take advantage of those situations.
“We had a good group of kids,” he added, also crediting assistant coach Louis Mogrovejo. “Each one had a different personality and, as a coach, my job was just to figure out all the pieces and how to put it together.”
The Indians (7-2-1) followed Tuesday’s league title-clinching win with a 2-0 win over Golden Valley. They’re now looking to take a four-game win streak into the recently announced postseason. The team is currently ranked 19th in CIF Southern Section Division II play, according to MaxPreps.com.
“The goals that I had as the head coach is to continue the tradition of winning,” Salinas said Friday, “and now my next obstacle is to make a good run at CIF.”
