Sultans rule Vikings in holiday tilt
- Updated: February 12, 2018
EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS SOCCER
By Adam Paul
EastCountySports.com
NON-LEAGUE
SANTANA 5, HOLTVILLE 1
SANTEE (2-12-18) – In a President’s Day special the Sultans took on the Holtville Vikings who made the 90-mile trip west to East County and were able to take care of business in their next to last game of the regular season.
Both squads went at it for the first few minutes of the contest but the Sultans struck first blood when Garrett DeRosiers snuck one in the back of the net to make it 1-0 for his 2nd.
Santana would eventually extend their lead later in the half at the 6:15 mark when Lane Dukes smoked one from about 15 feet out past the goalkeeper to make it 2-0 for his 13th on the season.
Neither team would score the final few minutes of the first half but the Sultans had various opportunities to do so but couldn’t convert.
So at the intermission, it remained 2-0 in favor of the home team Sultans.
Things in the second half got very interesting as the Vikings would cut the Santana lead in half as they knocked one in at the 33:10 mark to cut the deficit 2-1.
So only leading by a goal both the Sultans were now under pressure but they were able to hold the Vikings off as each team went at it.
Santana would finally be able to take advantage of an opportunity as Nick Valentine smashed one in to extend the lead 3-1 with about 18:00 left.
Now the Sultans could breathe a sigh of relief as they were able to add an extra goal but there was still work to be done. They would receive another golden opportunity when the Vikings were called for a penalty in the box which meant a penalty kick for Santana.
Taking the kick for the Sultans would be Austin Hanson who stepped back and was able to kick it by the goalkeeper to make it 4-1 for his first goal of the season. Santana would add another goal later on when Omar Nuristani scored his 23rd for the final goal.
Also contributing for the Sultans was Nathan Hughes who tallied his 6th assist of the season in the game as well as Tim Caravero, who only had to make a couple of saves on the day.
With the win, the Sultans now move to 13-5-6 and will wait on the result of the Monte Vista-Valhalla match tomorrow to see if they will be a tri-champion or not. If Monte Vista beats Valhalla tomorrow and the Sultans beat El Capitan on Thursday then there will be a tri-champion. If Valhalla beats Monte Vista tomorrow then they will win the Valley League championship outright.
Next up for the Sultans is their final home and regular season game and will also be Senior night as Zane Moore, Ben Sampson, Garrett DeRosiers, Kyler McPhillips, Zack Hirt and Timothy Caravero will be honored. Game time will be at 4:40 pm at Santana.
Santana who will more than likely make the CIF Division III Playoffs as they are currently ranked 8th will find out their fate on Saturday morning as seeding will be done for all Divisions.
