Two Unlikely Heroes Surface in Hart Win : High school soccer: Bajracharya scores first varsity goal and Gonzalez returns from Mexico to score another as Indians defeat Canyon, 2-0, to claim title of own tournament.

Oliver Bajracharya and Israel Gonzalez arrived Wednesday for the Hart High soccer team. And, particularly in Gonzalez’s case, just in time.

Bajracharya, a junior midfielder, and Gonzalez, a junior forward, scored to give Hart a 2-0 victory over Canyon and the Hart tournament championship.

Bajracharya fired a 25-yard rocket past goalkeeper Mike Alexander to snap a scoreless tie midway through the second half.

Gonzalez added his second goal of the season with two minutes to play, one-timing a pass from Victor Ramirez to beat Alexander from close range.

Both players proved unlikely heroes for the Indians (5-0-3), whose win over their Foothill League rivals earned them the championship of their own tournament for the first time since its inception in 1987.

Bajracharya, a varsity newcomer, had yet to score this season. And Gonzalez, believed to be visiting relatives in Mexico, was not even expected to be present.

“I didn’t even know he was here until somebody said he was suiting up in the grandstands,” Hart Coach Robert Benavidez said. “He told me he’d be back Jan. 3. I didn’t even ask why (he had returned). I was just thankful to have him back.”

Playing for the first time in three weeks, Gonzalez added speed to Hart’s attack. Canyon outshot Hart, 5-4, but the Cowboy defense was under pressure throughout much of the contest.

Bajracharya, a standout on last season’s junior varsity, found himself in the right place at the right time, gathering a bouncing ball and booting it authoritatively for a score.

“He’s been a contributor more as a distributor than a scorer,” Benavidez said of Bajracharya. “But that goal was one for the highlight film.”

In other Hart tournament matches:

Palmdale 2, Saugus 1--Palmdale took a 2-0 lead into the second half then survived a late Saugus surge to take third place. Kenny Cook scored for Saugus (6-2-1).

GIRLS

Canyon 3, Grant 1--Kristi Giorando scored a pair of second-half goals to snap a 1-1 tie in the third-place final.

Canyon (8-3-1) broke a scoreless tie early in the second half on a goal by Andrea Ritchie with an assist from Jodie Knott. Knott also assisted on Giorando’s first goal.

Pasadena Poly won the championship, 2-1, on penalty kicks after the teams were tied, 1-1, at the end of regulation. It marked the second consecutive year Pasadena Poly had defeated Torrance in the Hart tournament final.

Thousand Oaks 1, Hart 0--Senior Sarah Nichols scored off a corner kick from sophomore Joy Barry midway through the second half of the fifth-place final. Senior goalkeeper Laura Corsi made four saves for Thousand Oaks (6-5). Hart dropped to 8-2-2.

Nichols and Barry were all-tournament selections.