FONTANA — Something clicked for the Jurupa Hills boys soccer team Wednesday evening.
With the San Andreas League championship hanging in the balance, seniors Roberto Cabos and Hector Flores scored in the second half as the Spartans shut out Kaiser 2-0 to capture the league’s tournament title.
“We had to turn the switch on,” Jurupa Hills coach Gilberto Jara Castillo said. “At halftime I told the boys, ‘You can have all the talent in the world, but it’s going to take hard work to win this game and the league title.’”
No. 3 seed Jurupa Hills defeated No. 2 Summit 4-1 in the semifinal on Monday to set up a winner-take-all matchup for the SAL crown with top-seeded Kaiser.
“We were finally able to break through,” said Castillo, who has won 44 games in four seasons. “We had to win a league title. We had to set the bar higher.”
It’s the first league championship for Jurupa Hills since 2014, and the first in four seasons under Castillo.
“This is actually my first cycle of freshmen who are now seniors since I took over the program, so this is special,” Castillo said.
A CIF Southern Section Division 4 quarterfinalist last season after finishing third in the SAL, the Spartans have qualified for the playoffs each of the last three seasons.
Jurupa Hills now awaits its upcoming section playoff matchup, to be announced Saturday morning.
“We haven’t won a league title in forever, and I feel like this will carry us into CIF with this momentum,” Cabos said.
Cabos’ goal in the 46th minute – “It felt amazing!” he said – finished off an energetic opening to the second half for Jurupa Hills, and Flores added another 15 minutes later as the Spartans proved to be the stronger side over the final 40 minutes.
“That goal helped pick us up and helped us finish the game,” said Cabos, who leads Jurupa Hills with nine goals this season. “My right foot is my weak foot so I just decided to one-time it and see what happens, and luckily it was a goal.”
Senior goalkeeper Diego Ramos made only one save in the second half to earn his eighth shutout of the season. Jurupa Hills has allowed just 26 goals in 23 matches.
Both sides were reduced to 10 players late in the match after the referee issued opposing red cards in second-half stoppage time.
Kaiser (13-6-1, 4-3-1) had scored a league-high 60 goals but failed to find the back of the net for the third time this calendar year. A Division 6 quarterfinalist last year, the Cats had lost only once at home coming into the match.
“They came with a lot more energy than we did, when it comes down to it,” Kaiser coach Erik Carpio said. “Their pressure just really got to us.”
