“Big time players make big time plays in big time moments.”It’s a phrase that has been echoed for decades, and one that was repeated Saturday afternoon by Pitman High’s third-year boys soccer coach Manuel Romero, who sported a wide smile under the shining sun at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento.His remarks were regarding senior Zach Looney, who was responsible for all the scoring for No. 6 Pitman’s 3-1 overtime win over top-seeded Woodcreek of Roseville in the championship game of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II bracket. The victory marked the first ever section title to be won by a boys soccer team in the nearly 23-year history of Pitman High School, and it came in their first ever appearance in a section final.
“It feels great to be able to make history for this school,” Romero said. “The boys played great, and Zach came through in the biggest moments with the spotlight on him. He and the rest of the team did what they needed to do to bring this championship home.”Looney’s last two scores came on penalty kicks in the second half of extra time. The first, with just five minutes left, proved to be the difference.That penalty attempt was set up by scoring threats from senior Alonso Stephens and junior Giancarlo Nakamura. Alonso, who had come off the bench at the end of regulation and again during overtime, immediately provided a spark for a laboring Pitman offense that approached 100 minutes of playing time. He used his speed to dribble by defenders from nearly midfield to set up a one-on-one with Woodcreek goalkeeper Aaron Millsap, who blocked the whistling shot, but it ricocheted right to Nakamura who had an open net in front of him. In an action of desperation, Woodcreek’s Landon Wong collided with Nakamura inside the box, which sent both tumbling to the ground and resulted in a yellow card.There was never a doubt that Looney would be the one taking the shot.“When it comes to PKs, we always tell the boys, ‘Hey, it’s whoever wants it,’” Romero explained. “It’s whoever’s confident and whoever wants that big time moment, because not a lot of players would have wanted to step up in there. But Zach always wants it. He has insane confidence. He’s addicted to being under pressure.”
Looney walked up the ball slowly before accelerating and blasting the ball into the top right corner of the net.“I knew I was the best player on that field, and I knew nobody could stop me if I had my mind to it,” Looney said. “I knew I was going to put that penalty away with full confidence, and I knew I had my team behind my back to support me.”The Pride continued to control possession through the final five minutes, and the Timberwolves’ frustration began showing, as Jacob Nereson received the team’s second yellow card after pushing Nicolas Rodriguez as he kicked the ball into the penalty box during stoppage time. Looney again volunteered to kick, and was told by a referee that his attempt would be the last of the game. He proceeded to float the ball into the top half of the net before the final whistle was blown and he was lifted on the shoulders of his teammates.“That felt amazing,” said Looney, still somewhat out of breath from the overtime marathon and the ensuing celebration. “The ref told me it would be the last kick of the game, so I knew I was just gonna put it right down the middle, make it look nice so I can go to the corner and see all my friends and my family celebrate with me.”
Pitman’s Zach Looney is raised to the air by his teammates after capping off a hat trick on the final play of the Pride’s 3-1 overtime win over Woodcreek in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship game (CHRISTOPHER CORREA/The Journal).
Looney’s first goal came in the 35th minute, when he received a crosser from Noah Shamoon and dribbled up to Millsap before chaos ensued. The ball was tapped by a Woodcreek defender, but Looney regained possession before shooting and tripping just in front of the goal line. Millsap blocked it, but couldn’t handle it, and while on his back, Looney tapped the ball with the side of his foot just inches over the line to give the Pride a 1-0 lead.Their lead was short-lived, though, as the Timberwolves cashed in during the final minute of first half stoppage time, when senior Vince Noble delivered a looping kick from roughly 30 yards out high above the reach of Pitman goalkeeper Isaac Padilla.“That was just a beautiful shot,” Padilla said. “The guy had made two shots prior to that and he just cut in and made it. With those, there’s not much you could do.”Padilla was perfect the rest of the way. Other than the goal, the Timberwolves mustered six shots on the afternoon, and only one other shot on goal, which the senior handled with ease in the early stages of the second half.“They played great in front of me, limiting any attacks,” Padilla said. “It was a great team effort, and they made it easy for me. I can’t say enough about them.”
The Pride, meanwhile, shot nine times, including a trio of on-target attempts.“It’s Keegan (Pires), a junior, in the middle, it’s Fernando (Arroyo) on the left, who’s a freshman, and we have our senior Everest (Colnic) who stepped up in the end of the season, and Thomas Suarez, another senior, who just stepped it up big time today. I can go on about our approach defensively around there. Those guys have been put to the test this season, and they handled it.”The Pride knocked off No. 3 Grant 3-0 in the quarterfinal and No. 2 Whitney 1-1 (4-3 PKs) before taking down the No. 1 Timberwolves.Each team involved in Saturday’s final automatically qualified to this week’s NorCal Regional Tournament. After running through their gauntlet of a playoff schedule, the Pride (18-4-2) were awarded the top seed in the Division II bracket. They’ll host No. 8 Westmont (Campbell) at 5 p.m. on Tuesday at Joe Debely Stadium. The Warriors are 15-5-1 after a run to the semifinals of the Central Coast Section’s Division I bracket. They lost to eventual runner-up Bellarmine College Prep of San Jose by a 2-0 score.The regional tournaments are the last legs of the prep soccer season, as there are no state championships. They consist of three rounds, and Looney vowed that the Pride will play in all three of their Division II contests — and win. “We don’t feel pressure,” said Looney, whose team has now won six straight games. “We all know that we’re here to make more history and we know that we’re not done yet. I really don’t see us losing another game for the rest of the season.”