CHULA VISTA \u2014 Winning their third top-tier tournament in the last three weeks of December, the Central Spartan boys\u2019 soccer team won first place at the San Diego County Boys\u2019 Soccer Tournament hosted by Hilltop High here on December 28th.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made fourteen trips; the mental and physical demands on the kids and us as coaches\u2014it was something for us to win it,\u201d Central head coach Alonso Garcia said.<\/p>\n
The undefeated-to-date Spartans won the SD County Boys\u2019 Soccer Tournament Elite Division Cup with a 4-3 penalty-kick victory over San Diego\u2019s Southwest High Raiders (6-3-1) after the two sides had finished regulation time tied 1-1.<\/p>\n
\u201cSanti German converted a penalty kick with less than ten minutes in the game, and we tied it up,\u201d Central assistant coach Christian Diaz said. \u201cIn the PK round, Ricardo Munigua, Ryan Burke, and Jose Lomeli all converted their kicks…then we had a miss…then Santi closed it out for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
As impressive as the penalty kick conversions were, equally impressive was the play of Central sophomore goalkeeper Ian German.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the credit for the win goes to Ian, who had two penalty-kick blocks, which were amazing against a talented Southwest team,\u201d Diaz said.<\/p>\n
In fact, the Central defenders have been near-perfect of late, surrendering just one goal in four Elite Division matches this week, with a solid backline of sophomore Emiliano Gonzalez, senior Bryan Ortiz, and fullbacks Munguia and Burke, who, along with keeper Ian German, have allowed just six goals overall in sixteen matches.<\/p>\n
Three tournaments in San Diego County in three weeks obviously took a toll on the Spartans, who nonetheless pushed themselves through the physical grind of van rides and grueling matches.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all comes down to pressure and the mileage on the player\u2019s legs, as we went to San Diego four out of five days last weekend,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cWe had to prep for everything, and we asked for a double-header on Friday to cut the travel, but the rain forced us to reschedule and forced another trip.\u201d<\/p>\n
Central opened the SD County Cup with a 1-0 win over University City (4-3-2) on a late goal by Lionel Cordova and followed that with a 2-0 victory over Division-I tournament host Hilltop (2-6-3) at their home pitch.<\/p>\n
Against Hilltop, Central scored two first-half goals, the first by Edgard German, who then picked up an assist on the Spartans\u2019 second goal by Jorge Rivera.<\/p>\n
The shoot-out with Southwest-SD was the second penalty-kick championship match for the Spartans, who on December 10th claimed the Patriot Cup\u2019s Division II title with a 5-4 penalty-kick victory over Canyon Crest High of Carlsbad at Patrick Henry High.<\/p>\n
And the SD County Cup\u2019s Elite Division Cup joined the Patriot Cup, and the Gold Division Championship Cup Central won at the 48th Annual Grossmont Soccer Tournament on December 22nd, when they shut out the tournament host, Grossmont High Foothillers, 3-0.<\/p>\n
The Spartans captured the three Cups amidst a supposedly rebuilding season after losing seven starters to graduation from last season\u2019s team, which won the 2025 CIF-San Diego Section Division III championship and the CIF-State Boys\u2019 Soccer Southern California Regional Division IV championship match.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has me at a loss for words; these kids are just amazing, and the commitment from them and their families has been great,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cWe also get great support from our administration, led by our principal, Mr. (Craig) Lyon, and our whole school community.\u201d<\/p>\n