Michael Falino ran off the field, his arms held up high, and then suddenly he disappeared, swallowed by a giant group hug from his giddy Santa Margarita teammates.
With less than a minute left in second-half stoppage time, Falino said he saw the ball coming toward him in the box, so he hit it and hoped for the best. The result couldn’t have been much better.
His shot deflected off a Huntington Beach defender on its way into the goal to deliver a 1-0 victory for Santa Margrita in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs on Friday at Huntington Beach.
It was Falino’s eighth goal of the season, and his first in more than a month.
“It felt great. I have never felt like this before,” Falino said. “We came in here not knowing what to expect, so getting this result is great.”
The Eagles (11-7-3), the third-place team from the Tinity League, will face Santa Barbara (17-4-4), a 1-0 winner over Redondo Union, in the second round on Wednesday.
“We had all of the confidence coming in,” Santa Margarita coach Wade Fraser said. “We had strategized, and I think the work that we did in practice gave them the confidence that we could come in here and win this game. And it showed. I am proud of the way that they played.”
Huntington Beach coach Sean Dick was satisified with the Oilers’ performance, too.
“It (losing) burns a little, but they made history,” said Dick, referring to the Oilers winning the Sunset League championship for the first time in 16 years.
The girls soccer team for Huntington Beach also won the league title, making this the first time that both of the school’s teams were champions in the same season.
“They are proud of that,” Dick said, “ We have been a unit from the 24th kid to the first kid. And every single kid believed in what we have been doing.”
In other Division 1 matches:
No. 2 El Toro 2, Peninsula 1: Khalid Francis finished with a goal and an assist to lead the visiting Chargers (14-0-7). El Toro will face Downey (14-9-2) in the second round.
No. 1 Servite 7, Fountain Valley 0: Garrett Amador scored two goals, his 18th and 19th of the season, for the host Friars (21-2-1).
Edison 3, Mission Viejo 0: Taylor Kane, Adam Hepburn and Jack Slavick each scored for the host Chargers (12-7-2), who will play Warren of Downey in the second round of the Division 1 playoffs.
In Division 2:
No. 6 Sunny Hills 5, Long Beach Poly 1: Amaury Maldonado finished with two goals to lead the host Lancers (20-3-2).
In Division 4:
No. 7 Godinez 2, Western 1: Jon Romero had a goal and an assist for the host Grizzlies (17-1-1).
Contact the writer: ddottore@ocregister.com