After back-to-back losses in the Foothill League to Saugus and Valencia, the rivalry matchup for Golden Valley against the West Ranch Wildcats was a must-win for the Grizzlies.
But the Wildcats looked poised to win big in Thursday’s night matchup after the Grizzlies allowed two goals to the Wildcats’ offense in the first-half following a converted penalty from McColm Cephas and cross-kick assist from Omar Mahdy to Dylan Lewis.
By the end of the match, though, the Grizzlies defeated the Wildcats, 3-2, at home and secured the comeback as they scored three goals after a two-goal deficit.
“For the first 20 minutes, I was just like, ‘I don’t know what we have as we’re down two,’” Golden Valley head coach Stephen Evison said. “Since we lost the first game, it was crucial that we got this game back and now we’re tied with them head-to-head. So, it feels phenomenal to win but even better to win in the way that we won.”
As the Grizzlies (6-5-1, 3-3-1) fell behind 2-0 to West Ranch (5-5-2, 3-3-1), the Wildcats’ offense kept breaking through, hitting shots toward Golden Valley’s goal post.
In the 16th minute of the first half, the Grizzlies’ offense was able to produce a goal.
The Grizzlies’ midfield snuck a pass across the Wildcats’ backline to Golden Valley’s Ethan Ramirez.
Ramirez was one-one-one with the West Ranch goalkeeper and converted the goal to cut the deficit to 2-1.
But as Golden Vally scored, West Ranch kept up the pressure and forced a mistake on the Grizzlies’ backline.
The Wildcats’ Tyler Lankford capitalized on the mistake and was one-on-one with the Golden Valley goalkeeper Zander MacDonald. Lankford shot the ball toward the goal, but MacDonald made a save to keep the score 2-1 as his teammates erupted in excitement when they saw he came away with the ball.
After the match, Evison credited MacDonald and the Grizzlies defense for stepping up in critical moments to keep the Grizzlies in the game.
“The outside defenders stepped up in a big way, we were getting beat down the sidelines,” Evison said. “But our defense just stepped up. And I think they realized the pressure of the moment, and they can’t allow any more goals.”
In the final few seconds of the first half, the Grizzlies were awarded a penalty and opportunity to tie the game following a Wildcats foul in the penalty box.
The Grizzlies’ Sebastian Garcia converted the penalty and tied the game at two apiece entering halftime.
“I think that as long as we believe, we can kind of push through these opportunities. And even if we’re down, we’ve got to believe and that’s the result we get,” Evison said in response to the message to his team during halftime. “And, if we can believe that we can turn anything around.”
In the second half, the Grizzlies’ Jose Payeras scored the game-winning goal a few minutes into play. Golden Valley players from the bench stormed Payeras after the winning shot.
The Grizzlies held on for the win as the Wildcats were unable to come back.
With the win, the Grizzlies are tied for fourth in the Foothill League standings along with West Ranch.
The loss drops the Wildcats to 3-3-1 in league play and multiple games back of the Hart Hawks, who sit in third place.
“This win puts us back into the driver’s seat,” Evison said. “It kind of lets us determine our fate other than the other teams determining our fate. So, it’s big win here.”
The Grizzlies take a break from playing as they pick up league action on Jan. 27 against the Hart Hawks.
The Wildcats will look to bounce back on Thursday at home against the Canyon Cowboys with kick-off scheduled for 5 p.m.
After Thursday night’s games, here are scores from around the Foothill League.
Boys’ soccer
Saugus 5, Castaic 1: The Centurions (9-3-1, 7-0) secured the home win over the Castaic Coyotes (0-8-2, 0-5-1).
Lincoln Sullivan recorded a brace with two goals, as Alex Turner, Zach Rubin and Caden Kessinger scored a goal each.
The Centurions play again on Tuesday against the Canyon Cowboys while the Coyotes play against the Wildcats.
Both games are scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m.
Canyon 0, Hart 0: The match between the Cowboys (2-11-3, 0-5-2) and Hart Hawks (4-2-4, 2-13) resulted in a draw at Canyon High School.
The Cowboys play again at Saugus against the Centurions while the Hawks match up at home versus the Vikings as both games are slated to start at 5 p.m.
Girls’ soccer
West Ranch 10, Golden Valley 0: The Wildcats (5-5-2, 3-3-1) secured a big home victory over the Grizzlies (1-16-2, 0-7).
The Grizzlies will look to bounce back on Thursday against the Castaic Coyotes while the Wildcats play the Coyotes on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Saugus 4, Castaic 0: The Centurions (9-4-2, 6-1) earned the road win over the Coyotes (4-5, 3-4).
Makea Leonard led all Saugus players in scoring with two goals while Gianna Sandoval and Holden Sheff each tallied a goal of their own.
The Centurions play again on the road against the Cowboys on Tuesday while the Coyotes host the Wildcats at home with both games at 5 p.m.
Hart 2, Canyon 0: The Hawks (9-7, 7-0) defeated the Canyon Cowboys (4-9-1, 1-6) to stay unbeaten in Foothill League playthrough seven games.
The Hawks will look to continue the streak on Tuesday against the Vikings at Valencia while the Cowboys host the Centurions, with both games set to kick off at 5 p.m.
Photos below from Golden Valley’s win over West Ranch:
