Lions roar into title match

After a hard-fought evenly matched game between rivals, it was only fitting that a Northern Section Div. II semifinal came down to a shootout.

Soft-spoken senior captain Rene Cuellar threw his hands up in the air, turned and sprinted back to face his watery-eyed Live Oak teammates after booting a game-winning penalty kick in a 3-2 (4-2) win over Gridley on the road Tuesday.

The win was sweet in more ways than one.

Live Oak will now face Orland in the section championship game on Saturday, but playing spoiler to Gridley's 42-game home win streak wasn't overlooked.

"It's now 42-1 because of Live Oak," said Live Oak senior Luis Fregoso.

In the loss, Gridley coach Jesse Barajas still had a positive outlook.

"This senior class can walk away with their heads held high. They have nothing to be ashamed of," he said. "42-1 at home isn't too bad."

Live Oak's Aduaro Aceves opened up the scoring.

The sophomore forward corralled a ricochet off a Fregoso shot and kicked the ball just inside the crossbar to give the Lions an initial 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute.

Gridley responded in the 39th minute when Danny Maclel bent a ball over a four-man wall and into the right side of the net from a yard outside the box off a free kick.

A scoreless second half put the match into a first overtime.

Live Oak's Hector Cibrian got a bad foot on the first ball on a corner kick from Fregoso, but he didn't on the second opportunity.

Cibrian drilled the rebound into the back corner of the net to give Live Oak a go-ahead lead in the fourth minute of overtime. "That was shocking," said Live Oak coach Mike Owen. "You never really know when or where a score is going to come, especially against a team like Gridley, but that's when it got stressful."

However, when the two teams switched sides, Gridley's offensive pressure became constant.

Goalkeeper Ivan Martinez, who replaced Navor Maclel after regulation, booted a free kick from midfield into the box.

The pass found Maclel on the button. Falling back, the senior headed it directly into the goal in the midst of a packed box of players.

The two teams went scoreless in the second overtime.

And while Owen will take the win, he's not happy about the game being decided by a shootout.

"I do not like a game ending on penalty kicks," Owen said. "I would have liked to see it won or loss on the field. These kids are playing 110 minutes on the field, and to have be decided on PK's is too bad. I'm just glad we came out on top."

Live Oak's Ivan Ceullar scored first in the shootout, and Gridley's Marko Ramos overshot the goal, giving the Lions an immediate advantage.

Both teams each scored two more goals, until Martinez saved Fregoso's kick, giving Gridley an opportunity.

However, Live Oak goalkeeper Rene Ramirez — who had a huge day — gave the advantage back to the Lions after a save of his own.

Rene Cuellar then sealed the deal.

"I give them credit," said Gridley forward Sergio Castaneda. "They played with heart."

Orland 4, Wheatland 0

The top-seeded Trojans scored twice in the first half and two more times in the second to reach the championship game against Live Oak.

"We played really well for about 16 minutes and then kind of fell apart," Wheatland coach Rusty Gordon said.

Gordon said the Pirates went into the game with a defensive mindset, hoping to steal a 1-0 outcome from the defending champions.

But the Pirates became impatient with the strategy and Orland took advantage of the breakdown, Gordon said.

Division I

Sutter 1, Corning 0

Jesus Flores scored the game's only goal during injury time of the second half, sending Sutter into Saturday's Northern Section Div. I championship game.

The 1-0 victory at Corning on Tuesday had the added sweetness of avenging last year's championship loss to the Cardinals.

"It was a very evenly fought game. The ball was going back and forth down the field at both ends," Sutter coach Gurdeep Bhattal said.

Sutter's best chance before the goal came about seven minutes into the game when Francisco Briones beat four defenders but missed a shot about six inches wide.

"We had some other chances, but none as good as that one," Bhattal said.

Briones and midfield mate Casey Foster were credited with strong play, as were defenders Carlos Navarro and Garrett Hanes. Goalie Daniel Ramirez made three key stops on his way to the shutout.