In epic battle, McLane survives against Chávez, 3-2 in overtime, for Div. III soccer title

If you opted to stay in the dry and warm comforts of home and skipped the CIF Central Section Division III boys soccer championship match at McLane High Stadium, you missed an epic showdown between the host team and César Chávez High of Delano.

In the end, the soccer gods blessed McLane, which erased a 2-1 deficit in the first overtime period behind a booming free kick by senior Víctor Luevano 2 minutes into the second overtime period and a tap-in goal by junior Maynor Beb Caal.

Chávez appeared to gain the momentum in the first overtime period off a goal by sophomore Elian Lara who blasted a shot from near the far corner with little angle of margin. However, he was injured during the celebration.

The Titans appeared to have won the game in regulation but a shot at a wide open net saw the ball nick the top of the goal bar and bounce harmlessly away.

That could have been the soccer god’s way of assuring McLane would add a second section title to go with the 2016 championship.

Steady rain in 40-degree weather added to the environment of the closely fought title match.

“They’re here for a reason, too. This is a championship game,” said McLane head coach Erik Rodríguez. “They got some big-time players on that team, and they had us against the ropes.

“But, we stood strong and withstood their offensive power. Fortunately, we were able to come back on top.”

Super sophomore Guillermo ‘Memo’ Martínez scored in the 16th minute of play to give McLane an early 1-0. Up to that point, the McLane players were quicker to the ball and pressured Chávez goalie Damien Olivares.

But that momentum turned with less than 9 minutes left in the opening half when Ángel Gutiérrez converted a penalty kick to level the match.

From that point on, Chávez had better control of the ball and tested the goalkeeping of McLane senior Christian Martínez.

For McLane, the 3-2 overtime victory was a better memory and last season’s Division IV final against Fowler High. That match ended in a 2-2 tie, with Fowler squeezing by on penalty kicks, 5-4.

“We lost last year on a pretty bad fashion on penalty kicks,” said Rodríguez, recalling McLane being a player up after Fowler lost a player to a red card. “We were up 3-1, and we lost that game.

“So that built a lot of character. We kind of choked. We’ve gone through a lot of failures and a lot of adversity this entire season, starting from last year.”

Martínez, the sophomore forward who scored three goals in McLane’s 5-1 semifinal win over Selma High on Tuesday, said he is more than happy to score to help his team.

“This turned out perfect, man. I’m so happy. I have no words right now,” he said while shivering and posing for photos with the championship plaque. “What a great night.”

Luevano said he figured he needed to score on his penalty kick from just outside the penalty area to jumpstart his team.

“Honestly, I just wanted to put it away for our team. We were down, and I needed to bring up our team, like the energy. So I said one goal, and we got it,” said Luevano. “I knew I was going to be able to bend it around the wall.”

Luevano wanted the championship after last year’s loss in the finals, and a first-round exit the year before that.

“We had to relax. I got a yellow card early in the game,” he said. “We just have to all come together as a team to relax and be able to play as a team again.”

Beb Caal, who scored the game-winning goal, said there wasn’t much time to think about the shot because “everything happened so fast.”

“We got more energy after Luevano scored,” said Beb Caal. “We gave it our all after that to fulfill our dream of winning the championship. We did it!”

Rodríguez calls on Luevano to take free kicks.

“He’s my four-year guy, my first,” said Rodríguez, in his fourth year as head coach. “I put a lot on his shoulders, and towards the end he was our free kick taker. He’s going to take it no matter what.”

Méndez, the Chávez coach, praised McLane.

“My hat’s off to them. They are a great team,” he said. “They know their field really well. They adjusted a lot better than we did to the rain, to the bounce.

“They defended their turf.”

McLane is now 14-1-1 at home this season.

Chávez, the second of three public high schools in Delano to open (2005), joined the other two – Delano and Robert F. Kennedy in the section finals.

Delano defeated Kennedy, 4-2, on Friday for the CIF Central Section Division V title.

“Delano is thriving, it’s flourishing,” said Méndez. “We got good people who are coaching. Parents are supporting the sport. I’m just happy to see it grow.

“I mean, it’s not every day that you get all the schools in a town competing for Valley championships.”