Royal Survives Shootout, Outguns Fountain Valley : Soccer: Highlanders win boys’ title in highest-scoring Southern Section final ever.

In these days of super-information highways, it’s no surprise that Royal High received a pre-match pep talk . . . via fax.

Nor is it surprising that the boys’ soccer team had a special visit from members of the 1988 Highlander team, the last to win a Southern Section title.

But for Royal to score five goals in a single match?

Against one of the best defensive teams in the Southern Section?

In the championship match of the Division I playoffs?

Surprise, surprise, surprise.

Call it a pleasant one in a 5-4 victory over Fountain Valley on Friday at Gahr High.

“This was the roller coaster of a lifetime,” said Royal goalkeeper Ty Russell, who ended the ride with several key stops in crunch time.

Russell knocked away a penalty shot with just over 20 minutes left and stopped two other legitimate scoring chances in the last 15 minutes.

It was pure survival.

“I didn’t know how it would end,” Russell said.

Nobody did.

This much is known: Royal’s rather pedestrian 2-1 at the half exploded into the highest-scoring match in Southern Section championship history.

With the game tied, 3-3, Royal (22-5-2) reeled off a pair of goals, a penalty shot by Chris Fernandez and a tap-in by Jesse Garner off Kendall Simmonds’ crossing pass at 62 minutes.

Fernandez finished with two goals.

“In the second half, it seemed like (the Highlanders) scored every time they came down,” Fountain Valley Coach Kevin Smith said.

The Barons (22-4) pulled to within 5-4 a minute later on Keith Hedenberg’s shot off a rebound.

Maybe it was the uplifting pre-match visit they had from the ’88 team or the inspirational fax they received from Cam Rast, the captain of that team.

Somehow, the Highlanders of ’95 reached their goal by not allowing one the rest of the match.