A piece was missing, they were a man down. Their friend and teammate, Omar Rivera, would not be with them as they traveled to Bakersfield March 6-7 to compete in the Section 10 All-Star Playoffs. Omar came home, after almost two weeks in the Templeton hospital where his broken leg was being repaired, the night before the U14 Boys All-Stars left for the tournament. They crowded into the room, told him stories, signed his cast and vowed they would play this tournament for him, win this tournament for him.

Saturday morning came, and each of them wore a white star on their uniform sleeve for Omar. Their first game would be a difficult one for them. Many of the boys on this team were on the Vaiete League team that had been at the Sectional tournament the weekend before, where they lost in the finals to a strong team from Cutler-Orosi. The first game the All-Star team would play would be against that same team, but the rematch was different. This time they were the All-Stars, and this time they were playing for Omar.

It became apparent early on that this time they could beat the super team from the Northeast. And beat them they did, after winning the game 2-0, they went on to defeat Canyon Country (2-1), and Filmore (4-0) to win their pool and become the first seed going into the semifinals on Sunday. They faced the fourth seed from Burbank and beat them 3-0 to move on to the final game. The Final would pit Santa Ynez and Carpinteria, two Santa Barbara County teams, just like the U14 Girls teams the week before.

Both teams played hard, neither one dominating the game. Carpinteria scored first, but Giovanni Ramirez came back with a goal to tie the game, and that’s how regulation time ended. After two 5-minute overtime periods, the tie remained so the teams went to Kicks from the Mark to determine which team would represent Section 10 in the California State Games. Carpinteria took the first kick, but it was blocked by Santa Ynez Keeper Raul Guzman. Guzman then took the first kick for Santa Ynez and buried it in the corner. Carpinteria took its second kick and again it was blocked by Guzman. Santa Ynez followed with three more in the goal by Colin Schoen, Carlos Zepeda and Giovanni Ramirez to seal the win.

The team will now join the U14 Girls Viva la Pink team at the California State games at Cal State Bakersfield on March 27-28. The boys hope that Omar will be allowed to travel by then and come to watch them play. If you would like to help Omar and his family with some of their expenses, you can make a donation to the Omar Rivera Medical Fund (Acct# 0102813763) at any Santa Barbara Bank and Trust Branch. Please contact Julie Everett at 350-1382 or go to the AYSO Region 180 website at www.aysosyv.org.

— Staff Report