The West Valley men's soccer team stayed solidly in playoff contention with a crucial 2-1 win over Cañada College Friday at Dick Schwendinger Field. The win kept the Vikings (6-4-1, 2-1-1 Coast South) in third place in the conference standings and dropped the Colts (6-5-0, 2-2-0) into fourth. Friday's hard-fought battle - five yellow and three red cards were handed out - saw the Vikings rally from an early deficit and get the game-winner on an improbable shot from Miguel Moreno.
The Colts struck early on a Jin Fujita score in the 8th minute. Jack Murray got the equalizer for the Vikings in the 27th minute off a feed from Ruben Juarez. The score would remain 1-1 until the 63rd minute.
Moreno took a pass from Victor Morales and was working for room at the top of the circle - on the West Valley half of the pitch - and lifted a rain-maker that sailed over the head of scrambling Colt keeper Anthony Montoya and into the back of the net, just under the crossbar. The 65-yard game-winner was Moreno's fourth of the season and gave him a team-high 23 points in 2022.
Connor Faries stopped five Cañada shots to pick up the win in goal.
West Valley continues its postseason push with a big game at Coast North-leading Cabrillo (7-1-2, 2-0-1) October 11. Kickoff in Aptos is 7:30pm.
