NCS boys soccer playoffs: Anderson Valley routs Geyserville 5-1 for Division 3 title

Chirro Tovar scored three goals Saturday to propel Anderson Valley to its fourth consecutive North Coast Section Division 3 boys soccer crown with a 5-1 win against visiting Geyserville.

Anderson Valley has won five of the last six championships.

“We set a standard for Anderson Valley soccer now,” said head coach Steve Sparks.

“We got players who had uncles, brothers and other family play in the program,” he added. “We don’t handle adversity well because that’s not what our program is about.”

Even though Anderson Valley led 2-1 at halftime, then pulled away with a scoring burst in the second half, the match was never as close as the score indicated. Late in the game, Geyserville had managed just two shots on one goal, while Anderson Valley had kept the ball near the Geyserville net the entire second half.

Sergio Ruiz scored early to give Geyserville a 1-0 lead. “We knew we still had a lot of time to play, so we weren’t concerned,” Sparks said.

Anderson Valley got unassisted goals from Christian Guerrero and Jorge Mejia to take a 2-1 halftime lead. “We dominated the action,” said Sparks, “but self doubt started to creep in. They only had one attack in the second half.”

Tovar scored with an assist from Guerrero to up the lead to 3-1. Tovar scored on a penalty kick before a pass from Ulises Garcia set up Tovar’s third goal that made it 5-1.

Geyserville coach Greg Bekker said defender Tyler Smith played brilliantly on the backline. The coach said he won’t soon forget this year’s team.

“The school has been open since 1940 and this was our first championship game ever … in any sport,” he said. “It’s a bummer to lose, but Anderson Valley is the class of Division 3. Our boys played with heart.”