SOUTHERN SECTION BOYS’ SOCCER : Santa Ana Valley Looking Ahead to Final, Not Down

Santa Ana Valley boys’ soccer, at rock bottom two years ago, will try to climb to the top of the mountain tonight.

The Falcons, winless in 1990-91, will play Esperanza in the Southern Section Division II championship game at Cerritos Gahr High School at 8 p.m. It’s their first appearance in a championship game.

“I knew with the talent we had, we could go this far,” Coach Adnan Bayati said. “I expected this.”

Before last season, nothing was expected. The Falcons were coming off a 0-19-1 season. There was little hop and little morale.

Bayati had previously coached the Falcons during a 20-year stretch that ended in 1988. He returned last season to rebuild.

“The most difficult thing was to get these guys to believe in themselves,” Bayati said. “They were always asking for help. I told them they didn’t need anyone to help them.”

Last season, Santa Ana Valley was 14-7-1 and finished third in the Century League. The Falcons upset No. 1 seeded Cerritos in the 3-A playoffs (now Division II) and reached the quarterfinals. They lost to Long Beach Millikan on penalty kicks.

The Falcons (24-3-2), led by Francisco Islas (34 goals), were league champions and the No. 1-seeded team going into the playoffs.

Esperanza (17-3-7) was Empire League champions and are led by Greg Massey (13 goals).

In the Division IV title game:

Santa Margarita (21-1-5) vs. Corona Centennial (21-0-4), Gahr HS, 4 p.m.--A matchup of the two top teams in the division.

Santa Margarita won the Sea View League, which had three teams reach the quarterfinals. The Eagles finished the regular season as the No. 1-ranked team in Orange County.

Goalkeeper Matt Reis (20 shutouts) has a solid defense in front of him, including sweeper John Bamford, who is on the under-20 national team.

Josh Keller has 17 goals to lead the Eagles.