This game was more than just a championship for Pebble Hills, it was a chance at redemption. In their previous tournament, the Spartans lost to the El Dorado Aztecs in penalty kicks. The Spartans refused to meet the same outcome once again this year.

The Spartans were able to strike first, Jesus Gutierrez put the first goal on the scoreboard.

With things looking good near the end of the first half, the Spartans hoped to enter halftime with the lead as well as confidence. However, the Eagles were able to tie the game after Spartan goalkeeper Alexis Tellez allowed a shot to slip through his hands, bringing the score up 1-1, and the Spartan morale down.

“After I missed the shot, everyone was down including myself,”  goalkeeper Alexis Tellez said. “The other team’s parents were bashing me, saying that Pebble Hills has no goalkeeper. I knew I had to make it up to my team.”

Tellez would later go on to make multiple key saves late in the game.

The Spartans were clearly not the same team they were in the first half when they entered the second half. After conceding two quick goals, everyone in the stadium believed that Pebble Hills could not recover from a 3-1 deficit.

Oddly enough, the turning point of the game came after what should have been a detrimental call against the Spartans. Captain Brian Rodarte went in for a slide tackle challenge, but missed the ball and clipped a Canutillo player, earning him a red card and leaving the Spartans with only 10 men on the field.

Head coach Rafael Gonzalez then made a strategic substitution, and put in right-back Enoc Rodriguez who hasn’t seen playing time the entire tournament. However, he proved he was ready to play. Immediately after being subbed in, Enoc made a run stretching almost the entire length of the field, and crossed the ball in allowing Gutierrez to score, bringing the game to 3-2, and giving Gutierrez his 4th goal in three games.

“I knew I needed to help my team,” Rodriguez said. “We were struggling, but sometimes it just takes one player to motivate an entire team. I’m glad my play helped tie the game.”

The Spartans were motivated but knew not to celebrate too early, with little time remaining in the game and still down by one.

Jesus 0nce again got another chance to score, but his shot was blocked, however left-wing Osman Padilla was able to finish the play and put the ball in the back of the net. The game was all square at 3-3 with only 10 minutes left.

“We never stopped fighting,” senior Osman Padilla said. “We were a man down but that was no reason to quit. We endured bad calls and silly mistakes but we never gave up. We had 15 minutes to score two goals to tie, or three to win. We all wanted to win. I helped by scoring the tying goal, but it’s always a team effort.”

With just 10 minutes of play left, Jesus was once again in the enemy box. His quick feet and desire to score merited him a rough push from an opponent which drew a penalty kick. In similar fashion as the previous game, midfielder Carlos Ponce stepped up to take the shot.

He tucked it away, giving the Spartans a one-goal lead, and the nail-in-the-coffin for perhaps the greatest high school soccer comeback in history.

“The last penalty was important because it gave us a chance to be in this game, but this one was much more meaningful,” Ponce said. “I knew I had to score. It gave us the opportunity to win the championship and forget about last year against El Dorado.”

Despite last ditch efforts from Canutillo to even the score and force overtime, the Spartans stayed strong and would not budge.

Photos by Matthew Thomas and Liz Alvarado/ Teal Tribune

When the final whistle blew, the entire Spartan team celebrated and claimed their first ever trophy, they could finally exhale and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

The Spartans will be on the road to face Amarillo in the Midland Tournament on Thursday, Jan. 11.