Umar Majid’s overtime goal secures the win for Boy’s soccer against Los Alamitos Griffins

Umar Majid celebrates his overtime goal-winner for the Barons. Photo by Uy Pham.

By Travis Wu

The Fountain Valley Barons (9-3, league record) and Los Alamitos Griffins (4-8-5, league record) boys’ soccer teams went into overtime after a strong defensive showing from both sides in regulation time on Friday. The Barons broke down the Griffins’ defensive wall nearing the end of overtime, where junior Umar Majid’s second overtime goal of the season secured a heroic 1-0 win for the Barons.

“I thought we played pretty well and we defended well. We did a good job containing them and they’re a good team. I think we did well finishing them off at the end in overtime,” head coach Jason Smith said. “Overtime has been good to us, but we just gotta keep going with this really great season so far.”

The game began with the Griffins attempting a long ball to their wingers; however, the Barons’ defense was able to easily gain possession and clear the ball. This turned into a recurring theme throughout the match with the Barons’ strong defensive display preventing the Griffins from any good opportunities on goal.

Nixon Hunt whips a cross into the box. Photo by Uy Pham.

Seniors John Ennen and Zach Groff played a strong part in the central positions, constantly clearing away any passes from the Griffins and keeping a sturdy line of defense. Left wing-back sophomore Nixon Hunt made excellent overlapping runs throughout the game and his lethal throw-ins gave Fountain Valley chances inside the box. Goalkeeper junior Jacob Stevens had safe hands throughout the game, keeping a clean sheet for the Barons. 

Both sides were unable to find any good chances at the start of the first half, with most of the possession being in the Griffins’ half. Fountain Valley resorted to playing across the right wing, playing over-the-top long balls to Majid and senior Drew Payne. In one play, Payne twisted and turned around three defenders and found a through ball to Majid. Edging closer to the goal, one of the Griffins’ defenders stopped Majid inside the box and got away cleanly without a penalty. 

A key pairing between Majid and Payne gave the Barons several chances down the sidelines. Halfway through the first 40 minutes, Payne found another through ball to Majid where he blazed down the wing. The Griffins’ defense was able to run back in time to block Majid from getting a shot on target, forcing a corner kick. 

The Griffins made the Barons’ supporters skip a beat after their right winger trapped the ball above Fountain Valley’s defensive lines. Stevens blocked the initial shot, but the ball bounced back to the attacker’s feet. 

He made a low cross to the back post where the Griffins’ left winger was free with an open goal in front of him. Just in time, Groff was able to clear the ball off the line and launch a counterattack for the Barons.

The Barons’ midfield maestro senior Ethan Ro dribbled the ball up the field up the center and got a clear shot from outside the box where it missed the target. In the following minute, Payne found himself clear on the left side and took another shot at the Griffins’ goal, hitting the side netting. 

Los Alamitos made a defensive substitution to regain their composure for the rest of the first half, preventing the Barons from making any stand-out opportunities on goal. The first half ended scoreless with a good defensive half from both sides.

“Our defense played well today and kept the other team shut out,” Smith said. “It was a team effort today.”

The Barons kicked off the second half in an attempt to break the deadlock. The Griffins changed up their strategy and made attacking plays on the left side of the pitch. One chance involved the left winger making a low-driven pass across the face of the Barons’ goal, but it failed to connect with the striker’s path.

Drew Payne fires a shot at the Griffins’ goalkeeper. Photo by Uy Pham.

However, the Barons did not fail to create chances. One of the star players for Fountain Valley this season, Payne, attempted a few long shots and headers inside the Griffins’ territory, but it came to nothing in the end. 

“I know Drew [Payne] works hard,” Smith said. “You know, he’s got nine goals in the league so far and he takes a lot of pressure off some of the other guys.”

The Barons continued to pummel the Griffins offensively with good chances created on the side of Majid and Payne; however, the Barons ultimately struggled to convert the chances inside the box. One opportunity came after Payne found Majid through the mess of defenders, and Majid ran down the sideline. Majid cut once to fake out the first defenders but cut one too many times and eventually lost the ball. 

Both sides had no clear chances for the last ten minutes of the game. Offensively, both teams struggle to get any dangerous shots on target. Defensively, both sides showed resilience and stamina as they prevented each other from getting any opportunity. 

The final opportunity in the first half came when Hunt switched the ball across the field from left back to senior Cash Heit on the right side. He took a long shot that was on target; however, it was cleaned up by the Griffins’ goalkeeper. The referee blew his whistle to close out the regulation period and transition to overtime.

With the players fatigued, the Barons began the first half of overtime with Ro making a long ball to Majid, who skimmed past the defenders but got tackled from behind to lose possession of the ball. 

Back-and-forth chances resulted in close calls for both sides. The Griffins found an opportunity in the offensive half and secured a low cross into the box. The Barons’ defenders kept a steady composure and cleared the ball out before anything happened. 

Umar Majid slips the ball past the Griffins to win the game. Photo by Uy Pham.

With 7:45 remaining in the first half of overtime, the deadlock was finally broken. The Barons capitalized on a goal kick to Payne where he made a through ball down the right side to Majid. One-on-one with the goalkeeper, Majid chipped the ball over the goalkeeper to secure his second overtime winner of the season. 

The Barons will go against the Mariana Vikings (0-16-2, 0-9 league) in an away game on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.