In the semifinal match on Saturday at the Mistlin Sports Complex in Ripon, both teams were obviously eager to advance.  The two teams battled evenly for the first ten minutes.  

It might not be a surprise that Julian Marron started the scoring with another nice goal.  In the tenth minute, Grayson Ryan collected the ball in defense and shot it quickly down the sideline where clever forward Brayden Aycock collected the ball, turned, and fired a nice cross to Marron, who sprinted to the ball and fired it back across the goal into the opposite corner where it slammed the net hard, for a 1-0 Terremoto lead.  Thirty seconds later, on almost the exact same play, he hit the post with another shot, narrowly missing.  Again however for another ten minutes the teams battled well.  

With five minutes left in the half, tricky dribbler and shot artist Ojan Wahidi came into the lineup.  In his own end, he got his first touch on the ball -- and off he went, dribbling all the way into the opposing end at speed, eventually cutting across the goal and firing a beautiful shot to the far post the goalkeeper had no chance to get.  Terremoto had grabbed a momentum-boosting 2-0 lead right before the half!

The strong momentum carried over into the second half.  In the 1st minute, on a pass from Gavin Su, versatile Joaquin Retuyan pulled the ball off the foot of a defender and darted left across the goal, where he blasted a left-footed beauty into the far right corner, giving the team a welcoming 3-0 advantage.

Then, in the 5th minute, Marron got a throw-in from Ryan, and crossed the ball right-footed to Ojan Wahidi who had switched with him during the play.  Wahidi leveled another strong and timely shot for his second goal of the game, into the far left corner of the net, staking the team to a good 4-0 lead.

When momentum might have changed as the score became 4-1, fullback Luke Achziger placed a long perfect ball to Marron, who grabbed the bounce, slithered to the left, and despite being pushed by a defender banged yet another shot across the goal into the net for the 5-1 finish, putting Terremoto into the final State Cup Championship game. 

West Coast Terremoto (U10 Boys) advanced to the championship finals of the NorCal State Cup (B2) Sunday at River Island in Lathrop, undefeated, to face a tough Danville Mustang opponent that had beaten them 2-1 earlier in the year.  

Julian Marron had been an explosive forward all year, causing some major trouble for defender after defender.  He is known as tricky, fast, smart, and unafraid. “All of us, we know for certain, we all know what Julian can do, but little did we know he would just plain explode like that!” exclaimed the pleased Terremoto coach of Julian’s performance in the final.    

On the way to its 5-2 victory, Julian scored FIVE goals.  His incredible goal-scoring capped off a great defensive display and undefeated tournament run, by the team’s solid stalwart back line of Livermore’s Luke Achziger and Grayson Layog, Tracy’s Gavin Su and Grayson Ryan, and goalkeepers Mason Fehlmann, Liam Souza, and Brayden Aycock, who all shared duties in goal as well as field play.

The final game was tight through the first half as Terremoto was tied 1-1 after Julian Marron had scored a breakaway goal, until just before the half, when outstanding midfielder Tony Mendoza juked two players, cut back, and delivered a beautiful pass out to the streaking Marron, who jammed it into the goal to give Terremoto a nice boost 2-1 lead before the half.  “Tony’s assist there was a real defining moment for the team momentum, and particularly satisfying as just a great crucial play overall,” the coach related.

Marron was also aided by two great assists in long pinpoint passes from stellar center back Gavin Su, who had another patented good day.  “Gavin has been the staple of our defense all year, with his excellent tackling, ball distribution, and rugged ability to frustrate every attack anybody throws at him,” confided the coach.  “This game in particular, besides Julian just going off, was that back group (of Achziger, Su, Ryan and Layog) being so solid,” he said, “As well as their ability to assist, and attack.  In fact, Luke didn’t feel well, but he toughed it out, saying he really needed to go back in when he was subbed.”  

Grayson Ryan and Joaquin Retuyan also assisted in the Marron onslaught.  On one play, Ryan faked out three players before delivering a nice cross to Marron for one of his goals.  On another, Retuyan, the consummate midfielder who was outstanding in the semi-final Saturday, collected a long bouncing ball and tore down the sideline, juking two defenders continually as we went, before also delivering a beautiful cross to Marron for yet another good goal in the 5-2 victory.

Andros Azer, Ojan Wahidi, Liam Souza, and Nick Brown also played well, as did Fehlmann with solid goalkeeping, which kept the Danville team at bay with good control and possession of the ball, to seal the well-deserved championship victory.

The coach confided it was the goal of the players to win the State Cup from early on.  “The kids were so happy and excited just to be a part of this great NorCal event, but to actually win medals and a trophy as Champions is really a great feeling of accomplishment for them,” he said, complimenting the parents, and the good “heart” with clean play exhibited by the team.  

The team improved well over seasonal play, finishing 3rd in the Dublin Shamrock tournament, then 2nd in the Brentwood BooFest, before finishing with this State Cup Championship.  The team has two league games remaining, both are home games in Livermore.