Agoura Claims Soccer Championship on Rebound

It seemed only fitting that the goal that decided the championship of the Simi Valley soccer tournament should reflect the playing conditions at Simi Valley High over the past 2 days--sloppy.

After wallowing through the mire of a rain-soaked field for 71 minutes Wednesday night, Agoura High and Fresno Edison witnessed the outcome decided in a most unconventional manner.

Skidding along on a breakaway, Agoura senior Matt Freedman fired a shot past goalkeeper Jason Miller that ricocheted off the left goal post.

“I turned around for a second and thought, ‘Yeah!’ ” Miller said.

Miller’s reprieve, however, was short-lived--about 1 second. The ball caromed off Edison sweeper Jason Mann’s chest and into the net, giving Agoura a 3-2 win.

“I deked him and I thought it was going in,” said Freedman, who scored 2 goals. “Then I fell down and tried to get up. But their guy knocked it in.”

Said Mann: “I feel like it was all my fault. But there was nothing I could do. As soon as it hit the pole, it was right on me.”

Dominic Zapata, the tournament’s most valuable player, gave Agoura a 1-0 lead before the first mud stain had been collected. Zapata blasted a shot past Miller from point-blank range less than a minute into the match.

Nine minutes later, Freedman converted a left-footed roller from 15 feet to give the Chargers a 2-0 lead.

Edison replied, tying the score before halftime. Jessie Barrels scored from 10 feet at the 25-minute mark. Eight minutes later, Randy Carter fired a shot that hit the crossbar and caromed to Kakoa Barnes, who fired the ball into the net.

In other games:

Bakersfield West 3, Union City Logan 1--West, which eliminated host Simi Valley with a 2-0 win Tuesday, scored twice in the final 9 minutes to clinch the third-place match.

Juan Cruz scored a breakaway goal to break a 1-1 tie, and Ivan Labra added an insurance goal 6 minutes later as West improved to 7-2.

Simi Valley 4, El Modena 0--The host school finished fifth as sophomore Mike Hall and junior Andre Markarian each scored 2 goals. Markarian scored once on a penalty kick. Simi Valley improved to 9-1.

Calabasas 1, Chaminade 0--Calabasas claimed the consolation championship when a shot deflected off a Chaminade defender for the winning goal with 2 minutes remaining.

Calabasas recorded 4 consecutive shutouts after losing its opener Monday to the Simi Valley junior varsity.

Royal 3, Rio Mesa 1--Senior midfielder Oscar Vela scored in the first half and Ian Whittaker and Marco Todesco added second-half goals as Royal (4-3-1) finished 3-2 in the tournament with a consolation-round win.