Oscar Mercado found himself in the middle of a wild celebration following the Central Valley High School boys soccer team’s 5-4 penalty-kick shootout victory over upset-minded Woodcreek in the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-II playoffs on Thursday in Ceres.
The junior backup goalkeeper’s kick save secured the victory.
Mercado didn’t start the game.
He was thrust into the lineup midway through the first half after starter Gael Navarro suffered a concussion following collision with a Timberwolf player.
“I know when I call on any single player they’ll be able to perform,” Hawks’ head coach Horatio Garcia said.
“I told him (Mercado) to be ready before the game in case anything happened,” he added. “At any other school, he’d be starting.”
Carlos Ochoa, Diego Covarrubias, Jose Cazares, Alexis Cervantes and Alex Bautista all converted their penalty kicks.
“They stepped up when we needed them the most,” Garcia said. “They were ready. To be honest, it was really intense. It was nerve racking.”
Bautista accounted for what proved to be the winning PK.
“I’m really happy for him,” Garcia said. “He struggled taking penalty kicks in the past.”
Navarro totaled two saves before exiting the game.
Mercado made four saves in place of Navarro.
Fourth-seeded Central Valley and 13th-seeded Woodcreek battled to a scoreless tie during regulation.
“The first 20 minutes were shaky,” Garcia said. “We were struggling to maintain possession. That changed in the second half. We made some adjustments at midfield. That helped us gain possession of the ball.”
Neither team found the back of the net in overtime, which consisted of two 10-minute halves.
“I knew it was going to be a very difficult game because they play in a very competitive league,” Garcia said. “They tied the No. 1 team in the section (Whitney) twice.”
The Hawks improved to 17-6-2 on the season.
The Timberwolves compiled a 7-7-4 record.
Central Valley finished 6-8-2 and third in the Western Athletic Conference South standings (4-5-1) during the 2020-21 COVID-shortened season. Playoffs were canceled for all sports because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is my first experience as a head coach in playoffs,” said Garcia, second-year leader of the Hawks. “It’s a completely different animal at varsity. I believe we have the team to make history for Central Valley High School. Our goal is to make it to the section finals and win.”
