Lions roar in the rain

On the sideline of the rain-soaked field, in the midst of a wind that turned the spectators' umbrellas inside out, Adauro Aceves nonchalantly held up four fingers.

The Live Oak High captain was responding to a question. Yes, he really did score four times. And because of his unprecedented showing, in four days, the Lions boys soccer team will be playing for a section championship.

Aceves booted in the game's first goal, added an unanswered hat trick in the second half and the No. 6 Lions toppled No. 2 Gridley 4-1 on Tuesday in the Northern Section Division II semifinals.

"It's amazing, no words to explain," he said.

Hat tricks are nothing new to the forward, but never has the lanky, speedy senior gone for four.

He sure picked an opportune time to make it happen. He didn't do it against a low-level league team or an early-round playoff opponent. For his first time reaching four, he did it against the defending section champions, on their turf no less — a place where the Bulldogs haven't lost all season and had fallen just two times in six years.

"He played really well; he stepped up," Lions coach Mike Owen said.

Part of the Lions' one-two punch on offense, Aceves has spent the season being an effective additional scoring option. Teammate Hector Cibrian has spent the last two months being the Lions' standout with 25 goals in 19 games. Entering the game, Aceves had 14, making him the solid No. 2.

And that's how the Bulldogs played it. They concentrated on Cibrian, and paid for it in the end.

"I think they figured out that we were going to double team (Cibrian)," Bulldogs coach Jesse Barajas said. "I think they got away from Hector a little bit and started threading all the balls over to (Aceves) and he was the difference maker."

Goal No. 1 came in the 11th minute. That was negated by a Cali Garcia score eight minutes later. Goal No. 2 was that one that really hurt. In the first minute of the second half, Aceves put this one away.

Gridley looked to have tied it up with another Garcia score, but the goal was waived off after the officials called offside. The play no doubt affected his players, but Barajas wasn't about to use it as a scapegoat.

In the 40th minute, Barajas walked up to his counterpart, patted him on the back and said, "I want to be the first to congratulate you."

The Lions hope to be congratulating each other on Saturday, when they travel to face Orland for the section crown. And based on the way the Lions played on this dismal, dreary day, inclement weather would be in their favor.

"I've seen Live Oak play a couple times in the rain this year and they do extremely well in the mud and the rain," Barajas said. "If the weather is like this on Saturday, it's going to be a 50-50 chance."