In promoting senior midfielder/forward Mario Ramirez for postseason awards, De La Salle’s Francisco Martinez said he told opposing coaches all about Ramirez’s versatility and ability to succeed at any position.
Yes, that includes goalkeeper.
Ramirez never expected the opportunity to prove his coach right would come in overtime of the biggest game in program history. But when the Meteors needed someone in net, he stepped in.
“I played goalie before with my club team when I was younger,” Ramirez said. “It’s been probably four years since I last played goalie. They’ve known I played it in the past so sometimes in practice I’d jump in, but that was more just for fun.
“When they told me I was playing goalie (Wednesday), I was like, ‘What!?’ It was nostalgic for me. I really had fun playing goalie again.”
Ramirez came through with a pair of saves in overtime and the Meteors rallied for an improbable, exhilarating 3-2 win over Solorio in a Class 2A St. Laurence Sectional semifinal in Burbank.
Alex Panduro scored the winning goal in overtime and added two assists to lead second-seeded De La Salle (24-1-2). Antonio Als and Joshua Lawson each contributed with a goal.
The Meteors advanced to a sectional final for the first time in program history and will take on fourth-seeded St. Ignatius (14-7-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The Wolfpack won a shootout 5-3 for a 2-1 victory over top-seeded St. Laurence (17-3-5).
Ivan Vera and Junior Pineda scored for third-seeded Solorio (13-6-1). But De La Salle rallied from a late 2-0 deficit, with Als scoring the tying goal with six seconds left in regulation.
Junior goalkeeper Jahir Anaya dribbled the ball all the way from his goal across midfield before passing to Panduro, who set up Als for a 15-yard shot that deflected off a defender’s head and in.
“At that point, I knew it was either do this or we’re going home,” Als said. “I knew our season wasn’t going to end there.
“It was something I’ve never felt before. It was definitely a surprise feeling, but I knew that I had it.”
Anaya leaped into the stands to celebrate and was given a yellow card, then picked up a red card moments later.
That led to Ramirez being moved to goalkeeper for overtime.
“I guess the memories of playing goalie kind of came back once they said, ‘Hey, you’re goalie,’” Ramirez said. “I just had to remember what it’s like to play goalie.”
A few minutes into OT, Ramirez faced a free kick from 30 yards. He caught a strong shot from Pineda with the smoothness of a veteran goalkeeper.
“My nerves skyrocketed,” Ramirez said. “But in that moment, I knew I had to calm down, slow my breathing. I was nervous, but I got through it. I was able to get the ball in my hands.”
Ramirez made one more save before Panduro ripped in the game-winner just under two minutes into the second half of overtime.
“This was an amazing experience to come back from 2-0 to win 3-2,” Panduro said. “This one was unbelievable.”
Ramirez is a two-time Catholic League White Player of the Year, sharing that award this season with Providence’s Jimmy Piko. He has scored 49 career goals, including 19 this season to go with 15 assists.
But his most heroic performance came in the most unexpected place.
“The man can do it all,” Martinez said. “He proved it. I’ve told people in (award nominations) meetings, ‘My guy can do it all.’ That’s something that we kind of knew since freshman year, but it’s just crazy that it happened (Wednesday) of all games.”
With that, the greatest season in De La Salle boys soccer history rolls on.
“It feels amazing,” Ramirez said. “We are making history and we will keep on making history.”
