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  • Citrus Valley's Cameron Smith heads the ball against El Dorado...

    Citrus Valley's Cameron Smith heads the ball against El Dorado during the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game in Corona, Saturday, March, 4, 2017. (Eric Reed/For The Sun/SCNG)

  • Citrus Valley's Jordan Schaefer and El Dorado's Connor Leech compete...

    Citrus Valley's Jordan Schaefer and El Dorado's Connor Leech compete for the ball during the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game in Corona, Saturday, March, 4, 2017. (Eric Reed/For The Sun/SCNG)

  • Citrus Valley's Jordan Schaefer react to missing a goal against...

    Citrus Valley's Jordan Schaefer react to missing a goal against El Dorado during the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game in Corona, Saturday, March, 4, 2017. (Eric Reed/For The Sun/SCNG)

  • Citrus Valley's Jordan Schaefer and El Dorado's Connor Veronese get...

    Citrus Valley's Jordan Schaefer and El Dorado's Connor Veronese get tangled up on the sideline during the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game in Corona, Saturday, March, 4, 2017. (Eric Reed/For The Sun/SCNG)

  • Citrus Valley and El Dorado players battle for the ball...

    Citrus Valley and El Dorado players battle for the ball on a corner kick during the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game in Corona, Saturday, March, 4, 2017. (Eric Reed/For The Sun/SCNG)

  • Citrus Valley's Abel Rodriguez heads the ball against El Dorado...

    Citrus Valley's Abel Rodriguez heads the ball against El Dorado during the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game in Corona, Saturday, March, 4, 2017. (Eric Reed/For The Sun/SCNG)

  • Citrus Valley's goalie Christopher Pedroza fails to stop a goal...

    Citrus Valley's goalie Christopher Pedroza fails to stop a goal for El Dorado during the first half of the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game in Corona, Saturday, March, 4, 2017. (Eric Reed/For The Sun/SCNG)

  • El Dorado players react to their first-half single goal against...

    El Dorado players react to their first-half single goal against Citrus Valley during the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game in Corona, Saturday, March, 4, 2017. (Eric Reed/For The Sun/SCNG)

  • Citrus Valley's Richard Garcia moves up field against El Dorado‘s...

    Citrus Valley's Richard Garcia moves up field against El Dorado‘s Nathan Baranack during the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 championship in Corona on Saturday, March, 4, 2017. (Eric Reed/For The Sun/SCNG)

  • El Dorado's Connor Leech jumps over Citrus Valley's Abel Rodriguez...

    El Dorado's Connor Leech jumps over Citrus Valley's Abel Rodriguez to head the ball during the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game in Corona, Saturday, March, 4, 2017. (Eric Reed/For The Sun/SCNG)

  • El Dorado‘s Robert Arroyo, left, and Citrus Valley's Juan Zaragoza...

    El Dorado‘s Robert Arroyo, left, and Citrus Valley's Juan Zaragoza head the ball during the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game in Corona, Saturday, March, 4, 2017. (Eric Reed/For The Sun/SCNG)

  • A Citrus Valley player deals with the disappointing loss, while...

    A Citrus Valley player deals with the disappointing loss, while players for El Dorado, background, celebrate their 2-1 victory in the CIF-SS Division 3 final in Corona, Saturday, March, 4, 2017. (Eric Reed/For The Sun/SCNG)

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CORONA – El Dorado’s hot streak started in the regular season, continued into the playoffs and through the Division 3 championship game on Saturday, as the Golden Hawks earned a dramatic 2-1 victory over Citrus Valley of Redlands at Corona High.

Tyler Johnson’s goal off a set piece in the 78th minute lifted El Dorado to the victory and extended the Golden Hawks’ unbeaten streak to 16 games.

“I said with about five minutes to go, that somebody was going to win on a set play,” El Dorado coach Steve McManus said. “We had the last chance. We had the last opportunity to throw in and that is what won it in the end.”

The winner came off a throw-in by the Golden Hawks, with Connor Leach heading the ball towards Johnson.

“The keeper tapped it down and I was in the right place at the right time,” Johnson said. “It’s super awesome. It’s a great moment. I’m glad I get to share it with my teammates.”

The Golden Hawks have outscored their opponents, 9-3, in five postseason victories.

El Dorado freshman midfielder Ryan Bethencourt, off a pass from Connor Veronese, scored in the 27th minute to give the Golden Hawks a 1-0 lead.

Five minutes later, Citrus Valley argued that an El Dorado player inadvertently headed the ball into the Golden Hawks’ own goal for what would have been a tying score.

But the referees didn’t see it that way and play continued without a goal being scored.

Citrus Valley had another apparent goal nullified when referees ruled that a Blackhawks player interfered with the El Dorado goalkeeper.

In the 57th minute, Elias Morales scored on a penalty kick to tie the score after the referee ruled a Blackhawks player was tripped in the 18-yard box.

The Blackhawks controlled the action early and got some touches dangerously close to El Dorado’s goal.

Eleven minutes in, Citrus Valley goalkeeper Chris Pedroza took a tumble after colliding with a teammate and was removed from the game. Mathew Chavez took his place for about three minutes, before Pedroza returned.

The Blackhawks’ Jordan Schaefer got set up beautifully right in front of the Golden Hawks’ goal, but Schaefer got too much air under his header and the ball barely went over the top of the goal.

“It had overtime written all over it,” McManus said of the game. “It was an unbelievably tough game.”