NCS soccer roundup: Montgomery boys triumph, Analy girls come up short

The No. 1 Montgomery's boys soccer team took the field with a sense of determination on Saturday at Rancho Cotate in a Division 2 North Coast Section championship, and the Vikings would not be denied.

Montgomery (20-2-2) defeated visiting No. 3 Richmond 2-1 after breaking a 1-1 tie in the 65th minute when Carson Wyatt headed in a 6-yard shot off a cross from Andreas Mondragon.

Montgomery has been in the NCS title game five of the past seven years and has now won two championships.

“I'm happy for our seniors,” Montgomery coach Jon Schwan said. “We had a really good game plan and we executed it.”

The Vikings' route to the title started with a first-round bye, followed by a 3-1 quarterfinal win against visiting No. 9 Santa Rosa. Montgomery then defeated No. 4 Ygnacio Valley of Concord 3-0 in a semifinal before the victory against Richmond (13-1-9).

The Vikings started the game off in remarkable fashion, scoring a goal in a lightning-quick 15 seconds into the game. The Oilers led off with the opening kick that was intercepted immediately by Montgomery's Omar Ventura, who passed it to a streaking Bryan Rosales. After two touches, Rosales passed it to Jay Schlesinger, who buried a 12-yard shot for a 1-0 Vikings lead.

“The first goal was shocking to everybody,” Schwan said. “It's unfortunate we couldn't capitalize on our quick start.”

Richmond tied the game 1-1 after a converted penalty kick in the 30th minute, setting up the heroics by Wyatt for the game-winner. Montgomery had an insurance goal disallowed with a few minutes to play due to an off-sides penalty. Richmond had several chances in the closing minutes but could not convert them into the equalizer.

“Richmond had a lot of free-kick opportunities in the end. There was a lot of great defending by us in the end,” Schwan said. “Richmond is a good team, they played hard. Hats off to them. Hopefully this win helps our seeding for the upcoming NorCal playoffs.”

CAMPOLINDO 3, ANALY 0

In their first-ever NCS Division 3 championship game, the host No. 1 Tigers (18-3-3) were upset by the No. 2 Cougars of Moraga (13-7-1) on Saturday at Rancho Cotate.

“We did not play well today and Campolindo did. We were very flat today,” Analy coach Brittney Briones said. “Campolindo deserved to win; they played very well.”

While Analy struggled offensively and failed to send the ball into the back of the nylon, the Cougars cashed in on three scoring opportunities.

Campolindo scored in the 25th minute on an 8-yard goal by Celia Campo, followed by an 18-yard goal from the right corner of the box in the 60th minute to give the Cougars a 2-0 advantage. Campo converted a third goal into an empty net after a failed clearance by Analy's goalie for a 3-0 Cougars lead.

“That goal was the dagger, for sure,” Briones said. “We had a remarkable season. Considering all the obstacles, to get to where we are in amazing.”