Deer Valley High retains Mayor’s Cup after tying Antioch High in annual soccer match

Deer Valley High boys soccer team celebrates retaining the Mayor's Cup following the match with Antioch High, Tuesday night, Jan. 31, 2017. photo by Jesus Cano

Deer Valley High boys soccer team celebrates retaining the Mayor’s Cup following the match with Antioch High, Tuesday night, Jan. 31, 2017. photo by Jesus Cano

By Jesus Cano

The City of Antioch Mayor’s Cup means a lot for crosstown rivals Deer Valley High and Antioch High, and Tuesday night’s soccer match painted the picture for everyone as they ended up tying 5-5 in a wild shootout.

The Deer Valley Wolverines started off strong by scoring three consecutive goals. The first, coming from Diego Ruiz, after converting a penalty kick just two minutes into the match. Isaiah Moreira followed, right after as his teammate Rudy Saucedo sent him a pass sharp as a blade. The third goal found the back of the net on a header from Luke Fernandes, and was crossed to him by Edgard Morazan, setting Deer Valley to a comfortable 3-0 lead.

“Even after scoring the first three goals we still wanted more,” Deer Valley JV coach John Delaney said, who was filling in for the absence of head coach Juan Tannus. “Antioch is a great team so you never know what to expect with them.”

Antioch pounded the net on multiple occasions to end the half. Carlos Lopez began it all for the Panthers, as the senior perfectly executed a free kick. 10 minutes later, Abraham Torres took a corner kick that had Bernardo Mendoza’s name written all over it, as Mendoza got a head on the a ball that cut their deficit to 3-2. With less than one minute remaining, Josue Lopez tied up the game at 3-3, that sent the Antioch crowd into a frenzy.

“Our motto is to never give up,” said Antioch head coach Conrad Diaz. “We have to play every minute like it’s 0-0.”

The second half was no different from the first, as in identical fashion Ruiz once again claimed a goal that originated from a penalty kick.

Sophomore Omar Curiel finished a strike from a very difficult angle to tie up the game at 4-4.

After assisting earlier in the match, Morazan came up this time to finish the ball that was just out of the reach of the Antioch goalkeeper. With only seven minutes left in the match, the Wolverines preserved a 5-4 lead.

“Anytime I can help my team improve it’s a blessing,” Ruiz said. “This game is totally different from any other because you only get it once in our lifetime.”

They were had the taste of victory in their mouths with the game coming to a close, but Torres stole a ball and dribble it through defenders before hitting a right foot shot that put the game into a tie.

“Being back on the pitch was a blessing,” Torres explained, after missing most of the season due to personal issue.”Scoring the tying goal was just even better,”

While the game ended in a tie, the cup remains at Deer Valley, as a result of the Wolverines having possession of the award for the last two years.

“Keeping the Cup in my last year here means the world to me,” senior defender Fabian Wence said. “I really hope it (The Cup) never heads to the other side of town.”


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Mayor’s Cup soccer game winners


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