By Michael Pittinger
LoCoSports Staff Writer
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Sterling (June 3, 2016) — When the boys soccer teams of E.C. Glass High School and Park View High School met on June 3, the only thing on the teams minds was winning the VHSL 4A West region championship as both teams had already qualified for the state tournament by making it to the region final. The Patriots would go on to beat the Hilltoppers, 3-0, with goals by sophomore Remberg Garcia and junior Obdulio Funez.
“It feels real good to win,” Park View head coach Arturo Jimenez said.
For the first 17 minutes of the game there was a feeling out process. Neither team wanted to be the first to blink in this championship game.
The feeling out process, however, ended when the Patriots finally struck.
Park View junior forward Obdulio Funez would find sophomore forward Remberg Garcia in the middle of the defense. Garcia would then shoot it into the back of the net just past the hands of E.C. Glass sophomore goalkeeper Hurst Edson. The goal by Garcia would be his first of two on the night for the Patriots.
“Every game was a dog fight for us,” Jimenez said. “It feels real good. This is a good testament to the boys.”
Park View — now up 2-0 thanks to Garcia’s second goal — would strike again.
This time Patriots senior midfielder German Gonzalez would find Funez — the Conference 21B Player of the Year — in the middle of the defense. Funez would put the ball in the back of the net to give Park View a three-goal lead going into the half.
In the second half, the Patriots controlled the tempo and kept the ball in the Hightoppers’ end of the pitch essentially playing keep away from E.C. Glass. With about ten minutes left in the second half, both teams put there reserves in for the remainder of the game.
When the final whistle blew the Patriots and their fans celebrated capturing the region championship.
“We started this campaign during our fall and winter practices,” Jimenez said. “These guys have just been working hard from the very beginning. They’ve played hard and practiced hard, but the most important thing is they have played together as a team.”
The Patriots are ready to head south to play for the VHSL 4A state title at Liberty University in Lynchburg. Park View plays Friday, June 10 in one of the two state semifinal games, and if they win, they will play Saturday, June 11 for the VHSL 4A state championship.
Scoring:
18′ PV Remberg Garcia (Funez)
32′ PV Remberg Garcia (Funez)
35′ PV Obdulio Funez (Gonzalez)
