McLane gets a double kick of its girls, boys soccer programs with matching section titles

The roller coaster ride through cold rain and wind gusts stopped Tuesday afternoon just in time for the McLane High girls soccer team to make history.

For the second time in two days, David Álvarez watched his team deliver a workmanlike effort against an opponent from the Mojave Desert. This time, McLane scored a 3-0 win over Rosamond to capture the CIF Central Section Division Vi championship.

In the process, the girls matched the McLane boys who won the section title last Friday night (a pulsating 3-2 overtime win over César Chávez High of Delano).

For Álvarez, it was the first time in three trips to the finals that his team has won.

More importantly, the soccer sweep has given the McLane community a giant boost.

“This is huge for this community because people always kind of look down at this area,” said Álvarez. “But the one strength we’ve always had here has been girls and boys soccer.”

McLane High Principal Brian Wulf points to the community support in rain, wind and the cold to witness the Highlanders display their soccer prowess.

“It’s beyond exciting to see both programs flourish and do outstanding for the school, for the community,” said Wulf after witnessing the girls capture the section title and the boys advance in the Northern California Division III Regionals with a heart-stopping 0-0 (5-3 penalty kicks) victory over Lincoln High of San José.

“I don’t know if we can go back and find the last time that happened that both teams won section championships in the same sport,” he said. “It’s amazing!”

T

he central Fresno school that opened in 1959 hosted an on-campus parade for the boys team. The same will happen Wednesday for the girls team, said Wulf.

“We’ve been playing out here in these monsoon rainstorms,” said Wulf. “We’ve got a good crowd, good energy, and people are just coming out here and suffering through the bad weather.

“Just wait till we have a nice sunny day. Everyone will turn up.”

McLane vice principal Ramiro Terán, who coached the boys team to a section title in 2016, is thrilled about the double titles.

“The past two weeks have been something,” he said. “I’m very happy for both teams.”

Terán said the community has embraced both teams.

Domínguez scores twice for second game in a row

The roller coaster continues for the girls team. They will travel to Merced for their third match in three days to open the NorCal Regionals.

That’s because Desert High (Monday’s opponent) was stuck in the desert after snow closed the Tehachapi Pass and the Grapevine for travel. Desert had originally forfeited the semifinal match, but the CIF moved that game to Monday, with the winner facing Rosamond for the section title.

“It’s hard going back to back and the emotional roller coaster we were on,” said Álvarez, in his 21st year as head coach of the girls team. “That we went through was really huge.

“I’m really proud of them playing, and the community coming out in full support for us.”

Against Rosamond, McLane didn’t get into gear until senior forward Yadira Domínguez scored her 37th goal of the season with about five minutes left in the half. Until then, both teams struggled to find an offensive attack.

Sophomore Celeste Thahane extended the McLane advantage two minutes into the second half. Domínguez scored on a breakaway with less than 13 minutes left in the game for her team-leading 38th goal.

Álvarez attributed the slow start not to the team being tired from playing less than 24 hours earlier, but to nerves.

“It took us a while to settle down,” he said. “The goal by Domínguez breathed life into them. She’s been our top goal scorer this year. She’s just a phenomenal player.”

Goalkeeper Maribel Cabrales, a junior, said she was worried about her team’s slow start.

“At that point I was kind of worried, but I knew they could get it done,” said Cabrales.

The section title, she said, is special.

“There’s not many schools that can say they won boys and girls section titles,” said Cabrales.

The girls (18-13-1) will open NorCal Regionals at Stone Ridge Christian (21-1-2).

Penalty kicks decide NorCal opener for McLane boys

In an evenly matched game dominated by the defense, it came down to penalty kicks for the second-seeded McLane boys to defeat visiting Lincoln High of San José in the second game of a doubleheader at McLane Stadium.

McLane (21-6-3) relied on goalkeeper Christian Martínez to snuff Lincoln’s fourth shot of the penalty kick round after both teams battled to a 0-0 tie following regulation and a 10-minute overtime period.

Head coach Erik Rodríguez was not too concerned about the game being decided by penalty kicks.

“We do PKs all the time. Christian’s always at practice, reading a lot of guys,” said Rodríguez. “So, I was very comfortable.”

After Martínez blocked a penalty kick by Lincoln’s fourth kicker, McLane senior Anthony Cortez drilled his penalty kick to seal the 0-0 (5-3 penalty kicks) victory.

Earlier penalty kicks were converted by Víctor Luevano, Cristián García, Ángel Mejía, and Alejandro Mejía.

McLane will host Las Lomas High of Walnut Creek (21-1-2) in a NorCal semifinal at 5 p.m. Thursday.

(This story will be updated).