By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SALEM, Ore.– For the fourth-straight year, the McNary Boys Soccer team won the Central Valley Conference as they battled to a 2-2 tie with South Salem on Tuesday night at South Salem High School. Closing out another strong regular season with a playoff-like game with the Saxons.
McNary led 2-1 at the halftime break, Fernando Zepeda and Alessandro Totti Perez both scoring for the Celts as the two teams went to battle in the second half. And for much of the second half, McNary couldn’t add to their lead, and South Salem couldn’t pull even with the Celtics.
“It brought us up a lot,” said Zepeda of the first half. “It was the biggest game of the year, for sure. We needed to win or tie to win the Championship. It was a tough battle. It was hard for sure.”
Down one, the Saxons needed at least two goals and hold on for the win to take the CVC Title as a McNary win or tie solidify the Title outright. But it wasn’t until the final minute with South Salem was able to pull even with McNary off a Lucas Lee goal with 49 seconds remaining.
The Saxons quickly reset the ball and went back to work trying for the win. But the Celtic defense made sure that they did not get that decisive goal that would have ended their reign as Champions right there, and then as they ended, CVC play 5-0-3 on the year and are 8-3-3 overall.
“At the end, we made sure we grinded it out for sure,” adds Perez. “All the way until the last second and now our next goal is playoffs. It’s our next goal.”
As for now, as they wait for their first-round opponent, McNary will enjoy the fruits of their labor of their fourth-straight league championship victory.
“It’s an amazing feeling. It’s a daily work with these kids, they work at 6:15 in the morning. They believed in what we were doing and what they accomplished is amazing. I don’t know how many High School’s have won four times in a row, I’m just excited for my team,” said McNary Head Coach Miguel Camarenaof the feat.
The Saxons enter the playoffs 9-3-3 overall and 5-2-1 in league play
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
