DIVISION I BOYS’ SOCCER SEMIFINALS : Vasquez, Fountain Valley Oust Capistrano Valley

MISSION VIEJO — Fountain Valley won only five games last season and finished last in the Sunset League. But the Barons played Capistrano Valley Tuesday as if they go to the Southern Section Division I boys’ soccer semifinals every year.

They were quicker to balls in the air and on the ground, smoother with their passes and smarter and more focused in their play. As a result, Fountain Valley defeated Capistrano Valley, 2-1, and is only a step away from going from last to first.

The top-seeded Barons (22-3) will play Simi Valley Royal, a 2-1 winner over Redlands Tuesday, in Friday’s 6 p.m. final at Cerritos Gahr.

Joey Vasquez, who scored what turned out to be the winning goal, said his team simply wouldn’t allow itself to lose.

“We’ve come a long way together,” said Vasquez, whose team won the Orange County summer league in the off-season. “We knew what to do.”

And nobody seemed to know more than Vasquez, who appeared to be in a different gear than all of the Capistrano Valley players. If he wasn’t sprinting past a Capistrano Valley player for a loose ball, he was juking a defender with the ball.

“He is amazing,” Fountain Valley Coach Kevin Smith said. “I’ve been around soccer for a long time and I don’t know if I’ve seen a talent like him.”

Vasquez said he knows of no other way to play.

“I wanted to go to the finals,” he said. “I’m excited. I was just going real hard.”

So was everyone else in blue jerseys. Fountain Valley outshot Capistrano Valley, 10-7, for the game and, 4-2, in the first half.

“They were winning every ball in the first half,” Capistrano Valley’s Brad Chapin said. “We came out ready, but we weren’t executing.”

The Barons had most of the early shots and finally scored 29 minutes into the game on Adam Novak’s pass to Keith Hedenberg, who volleyed the ball past Capistrano Valley goalkeeper Andrew Matlaf with his left foot a few yards in front of the net.

“It was a perfect pass,” said Hedenberg, who scored his seventh goal of the season. “I’ve been waiting all season for one like that.”

Vasquez scored his 17th goal of the season five minutes into the second half on a centering pass from Hedenberg. He controlled the ball with his right foot, then slapped it past Matlaf with his left.

Fourth-seeded Capistrano Valley (17-4-5) finally started fighting when it realized its season was about to end. The Cougars scored 16 minutes into the second half on a Chapin goal off a long pass from Devon Adams.

They kept up the pressure until the end and had several opportunities to tie, but Fountain Valley goalie Scott Hainlen made all of his four saves in the last 20 minutes.