The CIF Division II Southern California Regional championship match served as a perfect example of how valuable Bryan Ibarra was to the Godinez boys soccer team this season.
The senior forward played a role in every goal the Grizzlies scored in a 3-1 victory against Santa Maria, which delivered the first regional title in school history.
But it was how he scored the final goal of his high school career in that triumph that showed what made him such a dominant force, and why he has been selected the Register’s player of the year.
He sprinted some 60 yards down the field, using his size, speed and strength to easily dispatch each Santa Maria defender as he dribbled into the box. A Santa Maria player made a last-ditch effort to stop Ibarra, but he bounced off Ibarra, prompting Ibarra to hurdle the falling defender.
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ALL-COUNTY BOYS SOCCER
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The end result was his 37th goal of the season, which was tops in the county.
This winter, Godinez coach Ruben Fernandez challenged Ibarra to be more than a one-dimensional goal scoring machine. He wanted Ibarra to spread the ball around to his teammates. Ibarra listened, and finished with 11 assists, which led the team.
“That was my mentality. I wanted to help the team out if it was scoring goals or assisting,” Ibarra said. “I had the opportunity to do both this year, which was really good. I just wanted to be there for the team.“
For Ibarra, soccer is all about scoring goals. He said that is what he loves most about the game.
Dating to the start of last season, he scored 66 goals, 16 of which came when the Grizzlies needed them most – in the postseason.
He scored 11 during this year’s CIF playoffs, knocking in two goals in a 4-0 victory against Valencia in the CIF-SS Division 2 championship, which helped the Grizzlies win their second consecutive Southern Section title.
“He is such a dominant presence,” Fernandez said. “He is big and strong and powerful. He has a great shot. He can score in the air. He has helped this team in the last three years tremendously.”
The Grzziles soccer team wasn’t the only team at Godinez that benefited from his leadership.
Ibarra said he owes a lot of his success to playing quarterback on the school’s football team. That’s where he got his speed and strength. Ibarra is not a drop-back passer. He likes to run the ball, and he had to find a way to be more forceful than the linebackers trying to knock him out of his cleats.
“All of those workouts (for football) helped a a lot,” Ibarra said. “But I do like soccer more. It is what I grew up doing. It is a passion. And I want to keep on doing that for the rest of my days.”
Contact the writer: ddottore@scng.com
