Sports
Culver City Boys Under 14 Team Win First AYSO Championship in 31 Years
The team took the trophy in Davis, California on March 17. The Under 14 Girls Team took second place.
By Paula Amazola De Herrera
At 5 a.m. on March 16, on a cold Saturday morning, 54 people boarded a charter bus at Veteran’s Park. Destination? The AYSO State Championship in Davis, California. Those boarding the bus included the Culver City Region 19 Boys Under 14 team, the Girls Under 14 team, and their parents.
After winning the 2011 and 2012 AYSO State Championships, the girl’s team was returning for an unprecedented three-peat. However, a Culver City boy’s team had not won the AYSO State Championship since 1982. Everyone knew winning would be a tall feat, but coach Will Herrera had been envisioning and preparing the team for this since November 2012.
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As fate would have it, coach Will was celebrating his birthday on this trip back to Davis. The last time he had been to Davis, he had recently been married, graduated from UC Davis, and had a two-month-old son - Dante. Today, Dante was returning to his birthplace as a 13-year-old to compete in the State Championship.
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Culver City Girls Games
Games were scheduled for St Patrick’s Day March 17. The girls played the semifinal at 8 a.m. where they swept the game with a 2:0 win against the Davis home team. At 1 p.m. they had their final game, where they struggled to score early but finally had their lead 1:0 by halftime.
In the third quarter, the opposing North Valley team scored a tying goal and came roaring back for the go ahead goal just before the end of the quarter.
Culver City had the fourth quarter to tie the game with a second goal but it never materialized. Everyone was shocked that the North Valley girls had upset the feared Culver City favorites. The girls took second place and lost the historic opportunity to have their third Sate championship in a row.
Both teams received their hard fought medals and the girl’s walked away proudly knowing they dominated the AYSO competition for almost three straight years. More importantly, the girls stayed around to cheer on the Region 19 Boys Under 14.
Culver City Boys Games
The boys played their semifinal game Sunday morning at 11 a.m. against Huntington Park. At half time the score was 0:0. Coach Herrera talked to the boys and said, “Envision the goal and your thoughts will become reality.” In the second half the Culver City boys took the lead 1:0. But the tough Huntington Park team took little time to tie the game up. And just as it looked like the teams would go into extra time, Culver City scored the go-ahead goal from a corner kick that was heading towards the goal before it was deflected off an opposing player and across the goal line. The final score was 2:1.
For the championship game, the boys played at 4:45 p.m. against Saugus. The opposing team had an impenetrable defense and the Culver City offense struggled to score. Although Culver City was dominating possession and peppering the goal with shots, they just couldn’t put it past the 6-foot tall goalkeeper. Official game time was over and the score was 0:0.
The game went in to extra time. Who knows what Coach Will told them, but within one minute of extra time Culver City scored the championship-wining goal, with a final score of 1:0.
At the beginning of the season, many expected a dip in AYSO talent since a lot of players were moving onto high school soccer, but this crop of girls and boys showed their determination to overcome all obstacles. Through this process the boys have gained a win that has been in the making for 31 years and the girls brought home a respectful second place medal.
Names of the Girls U14
Hazel Valle (#3)
Melissa Ramirez (#4)
Emma Soto (#5)
Natalie Monge (#6)
Melanaie Gonzalez (#7)
Maricruz Vazquez (#8)
Amanda Jaramillo (#9)
Danielle Martinez (#10)
Natalie Morton (#11)
Daisy Gomez (#12)
Emily Johns (#13)
Jasmine Herrera (#14)
Marnia McNairy (#15)
Coach Jose Herrera
Assistant Coach: Nelson Monge
Names of the Boys U14
Pablo Nocera (#2)
Chris Hernandez (#3)
Luis Hernandez (#4)
Justin Weiner (#5)
Coach: William Herrera
Assistant Coach: Luciano Nocera
- Paula Amezola de Herrera is the proud mom of Dante Herrera and wife of Coach William Herrera.
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