Golden Valley boys keep hope alive for back-to-back soccer section titles with playoff win
Carlos Miranda envisioned the play in his head before it happened.
The Golden Valley High soccer star received the pass from Daniel Gaona on the left side of the field. Miranda then weaved his way through three Rocklin defenders to the center of the field and fired a shot into the left corner of the net to give the Cougars an early 1-0 lead over Rocklin.
It was the first of two two goals for Miranda in the match as the No. 3 seeded Cougars defeated No. 6 Rocklin 3-0 in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs on Tuesday night at Veterans Stadium.
“I planned it all in my head before I even got the ball,” said Miranda, who leads the Cougars with 41 goals this season. “I just got into the moment as soon as i got the first touch. Whatever I wanted to do in my head it happened.”
Miranda is second in scoring in the Sac-Joaquin Section. Golden Valley coach Lance Eber has seen his star shred defenders all year.
“That’s what Carlos does,” said Eber, whose team is trying to win back-to-back section titles. “He’s probably done that 20 times this year, just taking on defenders. He revels in it, it’s just what he does.”
The Cougars (19-2-2) dominated from start to finish against Rocklin, controlling possession and attacking all match.
“We practice like that, keeping possession,” Eber said. “We got a little sloppy at the end, trying to score when we didn’t need to, but when all the gears are going and we’re knocking the ball around like that, it’s a beautiful thing. Three goals is good but we probably could have had six.”
The Cougars peppered three quick shots on goal 15 minutes into the match but were unable to find the back of the net.
Golden Valley kept coming and broke through with Miranda’s goal in the 18th minute to take a 1-0 lead.
Less than a minute later, the Cougars struck again as Jose Ontiveros scored on an assist from Christopher Morales to give Golden Valley a quick 2-0 lead.
The early 2-0 lead gave the Cougars a chance to relax. It was much different than the 2-1 nail-biter over West in the first round.
“It was a nice feeling,” said senior defender Malachi Wright. “Of course these games are never easy to get a lead in so you have to take advantage and capitalize on every opportunity you get.”
Ontiveros assisted on Miranda’s second goal that gave the Cougars a 3-0 lead in the 48th minute.
After making a run to a Division III section title last year, the Cougars advance to the Division II semifinals on Thursday against No. 2 Elk Grove, which defeated No. 10 Vacaville 2-1 on Tuesday night.
“We’re trying to make history and go back-to-back,” Wright said. “We’re trying to go down in the books. This team that we have — as far as all the talent — it would really be a waste to not perform this year.”
Ebers says the 14 seniors on the team want to go out with another special season.
“The seniors want to win this year for themselves,” Eber said. “Last year they helped our few seniors win it and now they want one for themselves. They know we’re playing in Division II this year, which is a little harder than Division III that we were in last year but we’re ready to go.”
This story was originally published February 13, 2024 at 9:07 PM.
