El Camino men’s soccer defeated Cuyamaca College 4-0 in the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship to claim the fifth state title in the program’s history.
The Warriors dominated control of the ball to start the first half of the Sunday, Dec. 3, game, leading to three shots on goal in the 10, 12 and 13-minute marks.
The aggressiveness paid off as Warriors midfielder Charlie Cazares scored on a free kick from 21 yards away at the 15-minute mark.
“Getting that first goal gave us that ‘Oh yeah, we’re on top [feeling],’ we got the ball in our court let’s make them play,” Warriors goalkeeper Donovan Palomares said.
An offside call against Cuyamaca led to a free kick for Warriors defender Nicholas Baltazar, who kicked it to forward Diego Garcia, leading to an assist pass to forward Shingo Nakano for El Camino’s second goal at the 22-minute mark.
Cuyamaca only had one shot on goal in the first half as the Warriors controlled possession and spaced the ball around, creating runs that led them to six shots on goal in the first half.
To start the second half, the Warriors maintained possession, which led to multiple fouls on Cuyamaca. One foul led to a penalty kick for midfielder Franco De Luna at the 49-minute mark.
De Luna scored and brought the game to 3-0.
The Warriors were able to take control of the ball which led to them dictating the flow of the game and stopping opponent runs.
“Our way is to keep the possession of the ball when the other team doesn’t have it and they have to run and chase, it tires teams out, we don’t have to run as much when we keep the ball,” El Camino coach Mike Jacobson said.
Cuyamaca could not get a run going in the second half.
The momentum stayed with the Warriors getting 10 total shots on goal for the game compared to Cuyamaca’s two.
The Warriors finished the game with another free kick score from Cazares, 28 yards away at the 77-minute mark. The final nail in the coffin for Cuyamaca.
As the referee blew the whistle, signaling the end of the game, El Camino’s final goal of becoming state champions was accomplished.
The Warriors dominated the opposing competition in the playoffs and the regular season. The team finished with an almost perfect 24-1 record and scored a total of 113 goals on the season, and only allowed 13 goals.
El Camino did not let in a goal in any of their seven playoff games and shut out their opponent in 17 of 25 games.
“It’s the mastermind, [Jacobson], behind this, he preps us well. Assistant coaches and goalkeeper coaches [too]. We train well [to] keep that shape mighty strong,” Palomares said, regarding how they have been consistently shutting opponents out.
The Warriors’ historic season comes to an end as they become champions for only the fifth time in the program’s history and the first since 1992.
Warriors forward Marvin Gamez won the 3C2A Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. Gamez finished with 28 goals and 66 points on the season, leading the state in both categories.
According to the Warriors’ website, the Warriors scored 34 more goals than the next-best team in the state and allowed the second-fewest goals in the state, behind Taft College which allowed just 10 goals.
Taft College played six games less than the Warriors this season.
“It’s been a fantastic year, historic…This might be, arguably the best team, when I think about that and how long it’s been since we’ve won it, it’s really a fantastic feeling,” Jacobson said, reflecting on the 2023 season.
