Inaugural boys All-Star Game ends in overtime

LINDSAY — What happens when you handpick the alpha males from all over the Valley and put them on the same soccer field?

You get the Tulare-Kings Counties Boys All-Star Soccer Game.

An intense and rather physical game unfolded before a crowd of some 1,000 in attendance at Lindsay’s field turf football field, which hosted the first All-Star soccer game in Valley history — a victory in favor of the West, 3-1.

What began as a one-sided affair for the attacking West squad in the first 45 minutes turned into a metaphorical brawl when the East shoved back in the second half. And occasionally, the brawl nearly turned literal.

“When you have all-stars, they’re all competitive,” said Farmersville coach Michael Jordan, who headed the East team. “That’s how they got to be all-stars in the first place.

“The other side of it is these guys play high school soccer against each other,” he added. “There’s still something boiling over, so that’s gotta factor into it.”

Porterville’s Allen Rosso, a member of the Panthers’ 27-5 squad this past season, didn’t expect such levels of physicality coming into an all-star game.

“I thought it would be calmer,” Rosso said. “It got aggressive. We’re competitive and this game brings it out even more because you wanna prove you’re the best.”

While all of the players involved are already the best in their respective locales, several players stood out as the creme de la creme.

Tulare Western forward Eligio Morales, a junior who led the Mustangs with 44 goals last season, scored two goals and assisted on the third to Granite Hills’ Ivan Yanez in overtime after regulation ended in a 1-1 tie.

Within the opening 10 minutes of the first half, Morales showed his finesse by heading in a cross pass from Redwood’s Fermin Martinez.

“What can I say? Eligio’s been doing it all year,” said Western coach Jesse Ramos, calling the shots for the West All-Stars. “I’m just glad we’ve got him for one more year.”

Rosso’s Porterville teammate and goalkeeper Diego Mendoza held onto a solid shutout for 75 minutes. But beginning in the second half, the East applied continuous pressure behind a flurry of shots from Alex Renteria, a dreadlocked forward from Farmersville.

Lindsay forward Diego Medina, forced to play out of position at right midfielder, fed Renteria for a pair nice looks but the first shot barely missed right and the second turned into the save of the night by Mendoza, who pounced on a deceptive change-of-direction shot.

Renteria’s persistence paid off, however, when he scored in the 74th minute on a controversial shot that clanged underneath the cross bar and bounced next to Mendoza.

The officials ruled the ball had crossed the plane of the goalposts, but Rosso was also near the action and disagreed.

“I don’t think it went in because if it was a goal, it would’ve bounced straight down, but it bounced out,” Rosso said.

For the final 16 minutes of play, it became a race against the clock for both teams.

“It got heated up and I think they rustled a couple feathers, which got us going,” Ramos said. “When you get a bunch of all-stars, they all just wanna win.”

A multitude of fouls were called; at one point, the East attempted three straight free kicks on the same possession. Several players snuck in shoves after whistles blew, but no one was carded.

Morales finally got back on track in the first 10-minute overtime with a lob shot and Yanez put the game away in the second 10-minute period with a left-to-right shot from 10 yards out.

“I thought (the game) was fantastic from start to finish,” Jordan said. “I give them credit. I don’t think they outplayed us, or we outplayed them. They just finished better than we did. The fact we finally have an all-star game is beautiful.”