Boys’ 3-4 Gold: Sollano leads Pomona
The Pomona Elementary third-and fourth-grade boys’ Gold Division team put on a stunning scoring outburst Sunday afternoon at the Daily Pilot Cup.
Pomona and Whittier had played each other to a scoreless draw in the first half of their title game. Pomona Coach Sergio Lugo, who is a sophomore at Estancia High, challenged his players.
“I told my players to prove themselves the last 25 minutes,” Lugo said.
Chris Sollano and Alex De Leon listened.
Sollano scored twice, and De Leon had a goal and an assist in a five-minute stretch early in the second half.
Pomona had Whittier seeing red. Everyone at the awards ceremony after the game saw Pomona’s red T-shirts too, after the Panthers finished off a 3-1 win for the title at Jack Hammett Sports Complex.
The players got Lugo good with a water and Gatorade shower following the game. For Lugo, it was his first Pilot Cup title. Last year, he coached the Pomona “B” team, he said.
“I didn’t win it as a player, but now I won it as a coach,” said Lugo, who played for Pomona and Rea in the tournament. “It feels great.”
Sollano, the kid with the mullet haircut, gave Pomona the lead in the 34th minute. He’s a right-footer, but he said later that he got it past the Whittier goalie with his left foot.
Sollano nearly added to the lead two minutes later, but Whittier goalie Tony Manriquez came out to knock the ball away, first from Sollano and then from De Leon. De Leon momentarily writhed on the ground in pain, but he hopped back up. A minute later, it was his turn to score, from the right side, to double Pomona’s advantage.
Sollano then added another goal after taking a perfect through ball from De Leon, and Pomona was firmly in control. The Panthers were on their way to their second Pilot Cup boys’ title in the top division; the first came in the fifth-and sixth-grade Gold Division in 2012.
Whittier cut the lead late in the second half. Jesse Fuentes, who had played goalie in the first half and totaled three saves, lofted a perfect free kick from about 25 yards out into the net to give Whittier its first goal. But time was on Pomona’s side.
“It feels great,” Sollano said. “We won the second championship [for our school].”
Goalie Cesar Pedroza made three saves for Pomona, which also benefited from solid defense from center back Oswaldo Sanchez and Estevan Esquivel, who moved up to forward in the second half to create a couple of good scoring chances.
“We made it all this way and we weren’t going to stop here,” Esquivel said.
Other contributors for Pomona included Luis Riestra, Brian Hernandez, Anthony Naranjo, Jason Hernandez, Jesse Aguilar, Erik Ayala, Izaac Regalado, Eric Dorantes and the team’s four third-graders, Gael Garcia, Christian Reyes, Nathan Reseisz and Benji Limon.
Pomona went 3-0-1 in the tournament, including a 1-0 semifinal win over Kaiser earlier Sunday.
Fuentes, midfielder Alex Barajas, defender Alex Prado and Benji Flores were leaders for Whittier, which was coached by Newport Harbor High freshman Carlos Prado. He said that Fuentes was his leading scorer in the tournament, despite spending time at goalie as well.
Pedro Arellano, Rogelio Segovio, Damian Gallegos, Eduardo de la Cruz, Jesse Munoz, Romeo Moreno, Abraham Sanchez, Ferny Mancilla, Miguel Medina, Jorge Ramirez, Erik Escobedo, Jonathan Linares, De’Anthony Lopez,. Juan Alvarez and Randall Bosques also contributed for Whittier.
Whittier went 3-2 overall in the tournament, including a 3-1 win over Our Lady Queen of Angels in the semifinals.
“We went against some hard teams and they played really good,” Carlos Prado said. “In this final, I don’t know what happened. [But] I enjoyed training them this season. They’re pretty good players.”
