FULLERTON – As soon as Mike Schade was in range, the Sunny Hills boys soccer team let their coach have it, dumping every bottle of water that they had over his head.
Yeah, it’s only July and still about five months away from when the matches start counting for real.
But on Thursday, the Lancers accomplished one of their goals, and it could be a sign that the Sunny Hills will once again be among the toughest teams to score on in the Southern Section.
The host Lancers dominated its match with Valencia, winning the Sunny Hills Summer League championship, 3-1.
The Lancers’ previous triumph in the month-long tournament was in 2012, and during the regular season, Sunny Hills gave up only nine goals in 24 games (.38 goals against average) and posted 16 shutouts.
Schade, though, wasn’t ready to make any comparisons between the two sides.
“I am just taking it one day at a time, one game at a time, one play at a time,” Schade said. “So much happens, and our league is so tough. That team two years ago was phenomenal. This is a little different. We have lots of work to do.”
Schade is still worried about the Lancers’ size, depth and team speed, but on Thursday, Sunny Hills’ high defensive pressure, prevented the Tigers from taking a shot until the 26th minute.
Nico Predraza stopped it for the Lancers with a diving save. He was lucky though, that Valencia didn’t have someone following the play because he couldn’t control the rebound and the ball rolled through the box for a couple of seconds before he picked it up.
That was really the only highlight for the Tigers in this match. Valencia got on the board thanks to a Sunny Hills own goal, one of only three goals that the Lancers allowed in 13 tournament games.
Sunny Hills finished with 10 shutouts and a plus-21 goal differential.
“That is pretty good. And it is not just the keeper. Our defenders stepped up and played great,” Schade said, “and today there was pressure all over the field. I don’t know where they got their energy.”
Kevin Perez finished with two assists on Thursday, both of them coming in the first half for the Lancers.
In the fourth minute, Anthony Flores knocked in Perez corner kick. And in the 12th minute, Perez crossed the ball to the far side of the 6-yard box to Alex Montalvo who headed the ball across the goal and inside the far post.
Just three minutes into the second half, Jorge Echeverria put the Lancers in front, 3-0, flicking in a long throw from Miguel Tapia.
Had it not been for a well-timed leap by Lucas Clarrida, Valencia’s goalkeeper, the Lancers would have scored one more goal. He turned away a Gilberto Sotello shot in the 42nd minute.
It was the first time that Sunny Hills won both division championships in summer league as the Lancers beat Fullerton on penalty kicks in the JV final. Jordan Brinkley, Matt Schade and Juan Sotello coached the JV side this summer.
“This is why we play summer league to build these kinds of foundations for the season,” Schade said. “Winning this tournament is important for anyone who plays in it. We made a great run this tournament. This is phenomenal.”