Prep soccer: Even as coronavirus cases soar, Whitney and Del Oro revel in SFL games

Normalcy in the high school sports world looks a little different. While the coronavirus pandemic is surging, with 1 million new cases reported Tuesday, prep soccer has resumed life as normal in the Sacramento area.

Tuesday night, there were sites familiar to any Sierra Foothill League boy’s soccer fan. With Del Oro leading visiting Whitney 1-0 in stoppage time at the end of the game, Golden Eagles coaches beseeched the head official to end the game because his allotted two extra minutes had passed.

As they pleaded their case, the official repeatedly said “stop talking to me” while instructing Whitney to throw in the ball around midfield. The Wildcats happily complied, streaking down the right side of the field toward the Del Oro goal. Senior Jackson Garza hit a laser-beam cross over the middle and Robbie Mora-Arias drilled it into the goal to end the game in a tie.

Naturally, there was more loud discussion with the official after the game.

Just another day in the life of the highly competitive SFL. Whitney entered the season ranked by MaxPreps 55th in the nation and 17th in California; Del Oro was 81st in the country and 27th in California. This is just what happens when top teams meet.

“The SFL is by far, in my opinion, the most competitive league in the area,” Del Oro coach Dave Shiro said. “You get a team and you think ‘We’re so good this year.’ And then you’re just as good as everybody else. … We’re just we’re just level and even and it’s a great league to be in.”

It’s also a league where everybody knows everybody. Jake Goehring, who scored Del Oro’s goal with 10 minutes left in the game, is going to Gonzaga after this season to play soccer with Mora-Arias, the Whitney goal-scorer. The two play club soccer together, but when high school season starts it’s all about school pride.

Both said they’re just happy to have a season at all, after COVID-19 reduced last season to a handful of exhibition games in the spring.

“It’s great, especially just being in my senior year,” Goehring said. “It’s my shot to do we can do, especially with playoffs not happening last year. ... It’s good to come out this year and try to win league, try to win sections, try to go as far as we can as a team, so I’m excited.”

“It’s our senior year and it’s fun to have an actual season,” Morra-Arias said.

The club connection is hardly unique. Clubs dominate the soccer landscape, with nearly weekly tournaments and games against other teams. High school teams often partner up with clubs to ensure talented players attend their schools.

While clubs are where kids get noticed and recruited by colleges, high school soccer still has deep meaning.

“There’s something sweet about just having that high school being able to represent something,” Whitney coach Joel Williams said, “because these kids represent all the clubs in our area. So we represent fourth clubs: San Juan, Blues, Placer and Rocklin. For them, to be able to just come together as a collective unit and just enjoy their time together is a big thing.”

Fans could see how fired-up the seniors were to be on the field Tuesday night.

Del Oro defender Chris Marisco made four dramatic sliding tackles in the first half alone as the Eagles knocked away several Whitney incursions. The Wildcats held advantages in shots, corner kicks and shots on goal, so both coaches said they walked away feeling OK with earning a tie.

“It was one of those that you’ll take a tie anytime you’re on the road,” Williams said. “In the SFL, you’ll take it. But I’m not gonna lie, we wanted to win. But that being said, the way the game transpired, to get a goal there in the last minute or the first minute of stoppage time, we’ll take it.”

“They’re excited about the season and they knew this was a big game,” Shiro said. “A tie is not terrible, right? When it could have been much better, right? But we didn’t lose. It takes a little while for them to get into the swing of things.”

Shiro was referring to how the Golden Eagles only played two games entering Tuesday’s contest. Based on the level of play and the griping about the officiating, everybody seemed to be in midseason form.

This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 9:22 AM.