High school soccer: Clovis North survives overtime to claim back-to-back Division I titles
The CIF Central Section Division I boys soccer championship match had all the right ingredients for an epic showdown between defending champion Clovis North and Ridgeview High of Bakersfield.
▪ A packed crowd at the newly opened soccer stadium at Clovis East High School.
▪ Clovis North head coach Cameron Shahrokhi dropping to the ground with a calf injury while celebrating a go-ahead score in overtime.
▪ Midfielder Dylan Mostes, a Clovis North junior, giving a “what me worry” look after blasting a 35-yard shot in the second overtime.
▪ Balmy 70-degree weather that left several players battling leg cramps. Even the head referee admitted he was close to cramping.
In the end, the top-seeded Broncos captured their second consecutive section title to improve to 19-1-5.
“He hit a banger just like that but a little bit lower in the quarterfinal match,” said Shahrokhi of Mostes, who scored in Clovis North’s playoff match against TRAC rival Buchanan. “So, we know he has that in his bag.”
Shahrokhi, whose team went 26-1-1 last season, said it was a difficult season because most soccer experts expected Clovis North to tail off after losing many of its top players to graduation.
“A lot of teams in the Valley wrote us off this year,” he said. “We kind of took it personally in the offseason about how no one really thought we could do it.”
A look at Clovis North’s record through the years should dispel any drop in performance. Since the 2017-18 season, the Broncos are 137-20-18. Clovis North’s last loss was 1-0 to Clovis High on Jan. 12.
Shahrokhi said there is unfinished business for his team, which lost in the Northern California title match for the only blemish in a 26-1-1 record.
Ridgeview is no stranger to Clovis North. The Broncos defeated the Bakersfield team 3-1 in last year’s section final. Ridgeview, seeded seventh, defeated No. 2 Reedley in the semifinals and No. 3 Sanger in the quarterfinals. The team is now 21-5-1.
“They are an incredible team, and so amazing for a first-year coach (Isai Cruz) to lead them to this venue,” he said of Ridgeview. “They looked outstanding. They scored two very nice goals, they scored first on us and they had the fight to come back. That is testament to how solid of a team they are.”
The match looked like it was headed to penalty kicks until Mostes’ goal that screamed across the pitch and into the net.
“God put the ball in my path and provided me the opportunity to win the game for us,” said Mostes. “It’s an unbelievable feeling right now.”
Freshman midfielder Brady Downing (34th minute) and sophomore defender Nixon Hansen (39th minute) scored to give Clovis North a 2-1 halftime lead. Both goals came after Ridgeview goalkeeper Jonathan Salazar failed to hold onto the ball inside the box.
