DOWNEY – Expectations often come with a price, and Godinez boys soccer coach Ruben Fernandez said he could feel the pressure mounting on the Grizzlies as they prepared to take the field Saturday at Warren High.
Being the No. 1 seed in the CIF-SS Division 2 bracket and ranked No. 20 in the nation by MaxPreps.com made Godinez the favorite in the final against Valencia.
Fernandez didn’t want the Grizzlies to be overwhelmed by the moment or the stress, so he told the players in the locker room that they would have to bring their best game. It was the final; there was no room for mistakes.
The Grizzlies listened to their coach’s advice and responded with a flawless effort and a 4-0 victory against Valencia.
Afterward, Fernandez called it Godinez’s best performance of the season.
“They are really good. They are good everywhere,” Valencia coach Barry Gardner said. “They are skillful. They defend well. They are just a great team. They are organized. They are that good.”
Senior Bryan Ibarra finished with two goals and an assist to help deliver the team’s second consecutive CIF-SS championship. Last year, Godinez won Division 4.
Ibarra has a county-leading 32 goals this season and he has 59 goals since the start of the 2015-16 season.
He had a chance to finish Saturday with four goals, but his header in the second minute glanced off the goal post and his point-blank shot in the 52nd minute was knocked away by Marvin Burgos’ sliding save.
“When you have a player that can score that many goals and is such a threat, it makes us that much more dangerous,” Fernandez said. “But today it was more about the team.
“Every single one of the players had their best performance of the season, and that is what you want in a final game.”
The Grizzlies were quite the ball hog, hardly letting the Tigers touch it until Fernandez subbed out his starters in the 60th minute.
Ibarra’s goals came in the ninth and 37th minutes. Ibarra also provided the assist for Jose Macias, sending a cross to the far post. With Saul Ramirez hanging all over him, Macias still chipped the ball in for the Grizzlies.
Ernesto Macias set the final margin for Godinez in the 45th minute.
Godinez’s season will continue next week in the CIF Southern California Regionals. The regional finals are March 11.
Contact the writer: ddottore@scng.com
