“We were in shock,” says player Michael Boldry. “It was a dream, and it’s still a dream. We deserved the win because we worked harder than any other team in the whole tournament.”
Las Vegas Wildcat striker Joaquin Rivas agrees.
“It was a really big deal to win because it took a lot of hard work,” Rivas says.
Indeed this was a difficult game for LVHS as it was their second match in less than 18 hours.
It was Wildcat Danny Sanchez who opened the scoring in the first two minutes of the game with a beautiful header. However, Dylan Neff tied up the scoring for Galena before the end of the first half.
Things didn’t get much better for the Wildcats in the second half when an own goal was scored due to the ball bouncing off a corner kick. The Galena Grizzlies were thus given a 2-1 lead.
That would not last long, however, as Rivas tied up the score with a penalty kick. He also gave the Wildcats the lead thanks to a great ball from Jaime Toscano.
By the end of the match, Galena’s luck took a turn for the worst as Boldry closed the game with another goal for the Wildcats. The Grizzlies didn’t go down without a hard fight, but in the end the final score was 4-2 for LVHS.
“I had no doubts about the game,” says Head Coach Vince Hart. “Galena played a very physical game, but we were better skilled. This was a team and a season that was truly memorable.”
Hart has been with the Wildcats since 2003. He was first approached by some players that knew him from his time at Green Valley High School and, after speaking with other coaches, agreed to take over the job.
“He is a great coach. He pushed us harder than anybody,” says Boldry.
This statement seemed to be echoed by most of the team.
Though he works at the private school Alexander Dawson, Hart says he very much enjoys coaching at LVHS and looks forward to another season this fall.
So do his players.
“I can’t wait to defend our championship,” says goalkeeper Aaron Lopez.
The Wildcats finished last season with an almost perfect record of 16-0-3.
Ravis, Boldry and Lopez all agree that they plan to make that record perfect.
“Beware,” says Boldry, who also plans to continue playing once he is in college.
The new season starts out with 2-day tryouts from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 18-21.