By Uy Pham
For Fountain Valley boys’ soccer, five games have come down to two periods of sudden death overtime this season.
The Barons have won twice thanks to game-winners by junior Umar Majid, but most recently fell to Huntington Beach and Edison in two consecutive double overtime losses.
Yet, for the CIF playoffs, a tie in double overtime results in a penalty shootout — a path the Barons ventured through in their first-round matchup in the Division 3 playoffs against Warren High School.
Despite the Barons scoring two score-equalizing goals on Tuesday to force a 3-3 tie heading into overtime, Fountain Valley ultimately lost the six-goal rainy-day thriller with a score of 4-2 in the penalty shootout.
“The elements made it a challenge to play with the wind and rain,” senior and captain Drew Payne said. “Balls are wet, and we’re slipping a lot. It’s difficult … We did what we could.”
While exchanging possession to start the game, Warren’s first major attack in the Barons’ defensive half was quickly diffused by senior Zachary Groff three minutes into the first half. Connecting with senior Ethan Ro, sophomore Nixon Hunt played a long ball down the left side to senior Drew Payne.
Payne, speeding past and beating the defender on the wing, found space within the box to curl the ball past the Bears’ goalkeeper to the right corner — scoring his 15th goal of the season and pushing Fountain Valley to a 1-0 lead.
Three minutes later, the Bears recorded their first shot on target off a side free-kick, but junior Jacob Stevens secured the ball with ease. The shot represented the game’s shift to Warren’s offensive tempo, forcing the entire Fountain Valley team to push back and remain in defensive positioning as the Bears attempted to build possession from the back.
A pattern of several shots built for the Bears within the next ten minutes, yet clearances by Groff and Stevens’s saves deflected Warren’s desires to convert a goal.
Senior Gideon Griffiths attempted to regain Fountain Valley’s tempo, finding a shot from the middle that Warren’s goalkeeper pushed away. Furthermore, the Barons pushed their defensive pressure further up the field, seeking to disrupt Warren’s buildup. Warren secured a few consecutive shots, with some off-target or diffused by the Barons’ defense for corner kicks.
However, a late tackle by Fountain Valley’s defense cost them a penalty kick with five minutes remaining in the half. The Bears converted the penalty and followed up two minutes later by deftly one-tapping the ball off a free-kick cross to the bottom right corner to secure a 2-1 lead heading into the half.
Fountain Valley’s defensive strength continued into the second half, yet the tight defense led to two yellow cards for the Barons’ defenders. Hunt’s long free throws provided scoring chances for the Barons in the box, and his explosive pace proved essential to recovering on defense against Warren’s counterattacks.
Tying the game 14 minutes into the second half, senior Ethan Ro crossed a midfield free-kick, and the ball landed at the feet of senior Cash Heit for the game’s equalizer. The tied score lasted only for two minutes; Fountain Valley conceded their second penalty of the game due to a handball. With the Bears converting another penalty, Warren reclaimed their one-goal lead.
“It’s tough when you concede two penalty kicks, but at the end of the day, we had a chance to go up. At one point, we were in and on the goalie, and the goalie made the save,” head coach Jason Smith said.
Shifting to a 3-5-2 formation, Fountain Valley sought to upgrade their offensive strength and defensive pressure in Warren’s defensive half. Warren maintained a majority of the possession, focusing on building through crosses into the box for scoring opportunities.
With his second goal of the game and 16th of the season, Payne received a ball from Hunt on the left side with nine minutes remaining in the half. Breaking through the Bears’ defense yet again, his perfect positioning allowed him to speed past the defense and convert a shot across the goal for the Barons’ second equalizer of the game at 3-3.
Warren ended the half on three consecutive corner kicks due to the Barons’ sturdy defense clearing the Bears’ final hopes of finishing the game before sudden death overtime.
Payne opened the first half of overtime by crossing several balls into the middle but could not connect with his Fountain Valley teammates. Warren’s biggest chance of the half came from a play generating the Bears’ space on the left side past the Fountain Valley defender. Unable to convert, Warren’s shot went over the crossbar.
Winning the ball in the midfield, Heit connected with senior Aidan Larsson for an attempt down the wings to Majid, and Warren struggled to land their shots on target.
An exchange of possessions carried into the second half of overtime, and a steal by Majid in the field proved to be the fuel of a promising counterattack ultimately diffused by the Bears’ defense.
Stevens, outstretching his hands and diving for close saves, pushed aside several final one-on-one shots from the Bears to maintain an equal score; Fountain Valley struggled to generate more offensive chances and instead focused on deterring Warren’s final offensive strategies before penalties.
“We sustained a lot of pressure, credit to our defense,” Smith said. “We took a lot of pressure for 20 minutes in overtime just to give us an opportunity to get a penalty kick.”
Senior Gideon Griffiths and junior Duel Hernandez converted their penalties in the shootout, but the Barons ultimately fell with a score of 4-2 to close the game.
“I’m so proud of the boys for stepping up and keeping [Warren] at bay,” Smith said. “We came back … Honestly, penalty kicks are just a better way than flipping a coin. At the end of the day, it’s a tight game, and [Warren] is a good team … Who knows, it might’ve been their toughest game.”
The Barons finished their season with a CIF appearance and secured second place in the seven-team Sunset League behind league champions Edison.
“We beat Los Alamitos twice this year, and for the first time at their place,” Payne said. “We’re changing the narrative, and we’re going to keep changing that narrative in the following years … Being varsity since freshman year, I worked hard for my position, and now scoring all these goals — hard work pays off.”
“We are trying to get back to the old Fountain Valley ways where we are competing for championships,” Smith added. “It’s been exciting going back to the true Sunset League, and our guys excelled. We were competing for a title with Edison, coming down to the final few games … We’ve got a lot of talent in the program, our freshmen team only lost one game … Half of our starters are returning.”
