SUNRISE BOYS SOCCER: Sanchez, Gonzales team up to send Vikings to state

Eric Sanchez was quiet for 87 minutes on Saturday.

Fortunately for Valley’s boys soccer team, the squad’s leading scorer finally broke through.

Sanchez, who had a penalty kick rattle off the crossbar in the first half, scored in the eighth minute of overtime to give the Vikings a 3-2 win over Foothill in the Sunrise Region championship game at Heritage Park.

“Oh my God, that was the happiest moment of my life,” Sanchez said. “I’ve played four years of high school (soccer) and never made it this far.”

Sanchez made a beautiful run on a long free kick by Marco Gonzales. Gonzales served the ball perfectly, and Sanchez was able to redirect the ball with a header into the net to end the game.

It was fitting that the duo combined for the winning score, as they have 50 goals and 17 assists on the season.

“They weren’t doing what they usually do, but they put it in when it counted, so that’s pretty much what matters,” Valley coach Angel Pantalaeon said of his two stars. “They say that the great players put in the goals and play the way they’re supposed to when the team needs them the most, and that’s what they did today.”

Valley (15-3) controlled possession for much of the game, and outshot Foothill 20-8. But the Falcons (19-4) were able to make the most of their opportunities to stay in the game.

Late in the first half, John Cerda stole the ball for the Vikings and got it ahead to Gonzales on the left flank. Gonzales was able to turn in and hit a right-footed shot to the far post for a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute.

But Foothill quickly answered when Jackson Dietrich passed ahead to Michael Carnahan, who turned back inside and hit a left-footed shot to the far post with about a minute to play in the half to tie the game.

The Falcons went up 2-1 with a counterattack goal in the 64th minute. Mason Reid drove down the left sideline and crossed to the middle. Dietrick redirected the ball to Robert Cowan, who knocked home the shot for Foothill’s only lead.

“Some of our defense would move up and try to press on the offense and that’s when they would come in, putting the ball to the right or left of our defenders over the top,” Pantaleon said. “And they would have us running, and that’s how they caught us.”

The Vikings tied the game in the 73rd minute when Gonzales took a pass from Anthony Marquez and knocked home a left-footed shot.

The win secured Valley a spot in the Division I state tournament, which begins Friday at Heritage Park. Valley hasn’t made state since 2003, and the Vikings hadn’t even made the playoffs since 2011.

But in two seasons, Pantaleon has helped turn around a program that was 0-13-1 in 2012.

“When he came in, he wasn’t preparing us for last year, but for this year,” Sanchez said.

Gonzales said it was the team’s work ethic that led to the turnaround.

“It’s just the commitment,” Gonzales said. “No one quit on us, everyone just came together. We knew we had a team and we knew we could do it this year.”

Foothill plays Sunset Region runner-up Cimarron-Memorial (15-4-2) at 4 p.m. on Monday at Clark for the final berth at state.