GALT – A common mantra is for a team to bend, but not break. How No. 6 East Union did not break against top-seeded powerhouse Galt on Saturday defies logic, but not only did the Lancers scrap to keep the Warriors off the board, they managed two goals of their own to claim the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III boys soccer championship with a 2-0 win at Liberty Ranch, the first blue banner for the East Union boys program.
Galt (22-2-1) penetrated deep inside the Lancers box 20 times and came up empty each time. This is a Warriors team that had scored 47 times in its in its previous seven outings and had won 16 games in a row, not losing in its last 21 outings.
“In our all-league meeting, Weston Ranch said they viewed East Union as a defensive team,” Lancers coach Ronnie Green said. “And what nobody knows is we play a three-back. Everybody else plays four back and we just play three. Our defense is stellar.
“Jonathan Bautista, our center back, is a stud. We have rode the coat tails of our defense for the last two years. We have an offensive system with a strong defense and the only way to do that is to have strong defensive players. I was fortunate to have three guys ready to step up and do that and I have three lined up for next season already.”
Goalie Fernando Ambriz anchored that impressive defensive effort for East Union (14-3-8) with nine saves.
“Our defense works really hard,” Ambriz said. “We love each other and we are going to be there for each other all the time.
“If it’s not me saving the ball they care going to come in and save it. We are all just going to get to the ball and get it out as soon as possible.”
Alex Arroyo stunned Galt when he scored off of a pass from Noe Martinez in the eighth minute of the first half. This was the first goal the Warriors have given up in the playoffs and just the second in the last eight games.
“I passed it to Noe,” Arroyo said, “He and I have good chemistry since we have played together since sophomore year, so he got it back to me because I was wide open and I knew I had to shoot it and thankfully it went in.”
With eight minutes left in the game, Cristian Perez took a through ball from Samuel Diaz for a breakaway, beating the goalie to give the Lancers an insurance goal that totally deflated the Galt attack.
“I had a lot of pressure on me,” Perez said. “I had him one-on-one and I had to score.
“The goalie was staying in the middle and I got it to the corner.”