Oakdale wins D-III soccer title on Becerra’s goal in second overtime

It had been a frustrating afternoon for Oakdale High soccer player Jose Becerra.

The senior had done a nice job serving as the Mustangs’ point man, holding the ball up top and distributing it in the attack. But Becerra had struggled to test Christian Brothers goalkeeper Alec Edelmayer, with most of his shot attempts blocked or off frame.

Oakdale’s leading scorer atoned with a clinical strike from 25 yards out in Saturday’s second overtime period, giving the Mustangs a 2-1 victory in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship game at Cosumnes Oaks High.

It’s Oakdale’s fifth section title and first since 2003.

“I don’t even know what I would have done if we’d lost,” Beccera said. “I’d had a couple of those balls come out to me like that and just couldn’t get anything through. I knew I’d been messing up, but I wanted it so bad for my team.

“As soon as I hit the ball, I knew it was in.”

It was a fitting finish for an Oakdale team (20-5-3) that found a second wind in overtime.

After an evenly played opening 60 minutes, defending champion Christian Brothers (17-2-4) took over the final 20 minutes of regulation. The Mustangs started looking fatigued and were forced to hunker down as wave after wave of the Falcons’ attack pushed forward.

It almost never reached OT as CB striker Kristian Heptner forced a game-saving, one-handed dive from Oakdale goalkeeper Derek Martinez (eight saves) when he flicked a free kick with his head in the 74th minute. The Oakdale faithful collectively held their breath as the rebound was pushed just wide.

The five-minute break between regulation and overtime seemed to rejuvenate the Mustangs. They outshot the Falcons 4-1 in OT and went up for good in the 97th minute when a failed clearance came right to Beccera. He took a touch forward and drilled a 25-yard rocket into the top left corner.

“We got a big boost of energy in overtime, and I think it was because the kids were determined not to lose,” Oakdale coach Alfredo Quiroga said. “This group had already paid the price, in terms of taking some lumps while we made up for the experience we should have had.

“We were supposed to have eight returning seniors, but circumstances made it so we only had three. This win is very rewarding because of that. This was a team we had to build from the ground up.”

Despite the Mustangs’ lack of veteran experience, they took the field as the aggressors, jumping on the board just seven minutes in.

Gabriel Ramirez threaded a ball to Michael Arauza on the left wing. The junior cut into the Christian Brothers 18-yard box, beat three defenders off the dribble and fired to the near post to make it 1-0.

“That first goal was a big confidence boost,” Beccera said. “They’d only lost one game all season. On paper, that’s pretty intimidating. Scoring that goal helped show us that they didn’t have anything we couldn’t handle.”

Christian Brothers began to show why it was the defending champ in the final 20 minutes of the opening half and had its pressure rewarded just before the break.

Heptner played in from a long ball just beyond midfield. The senior striker held off the Oakdale defender hounding him from behind and beat Martinez in a race to the ball, just toeing in the equalizer in the 37th minute.

It stayed deadlocked until Becerra’s overtime heroics brought home the blue banner.

This story was originally published November 15, 2014 at 8:55 PM with the headline "Oakdale wins D-III soccer title on Becerra’s goal in second overtime."