Taft College defeated Santa Rosa Junior College 2-1 in double overtime on Sunday at Fresno Pacific University to capture the California Community College Men's Soccer Championship. Sophomore forward Carlos Aguilar scored the winning goal with just a few seconds remaining. Despite controlling much of the early action, the Cougars trailed 1-0 at halftime. Aguilar, since dubbed "Hero" by his elated teammates, also scored Taft's first goal in the game's 58th minute to tie the score. Freshmen midfielder Sergio Valle had the assists on both goals. In the second half, the Bear Cubs constantly launched shots in threatening to regain the lead, but Taft goalkeeper and team captain Victor Chinchilla made eight saves to help Taft force overtime. Chinchilla was named tournament MVP for his strong play in leading the Cougars to the title.
Taft entered the postseason with the state's No. 9 ranking and first had to beat undefeated No. 1 Mt. San Antonio College in the semifinals before facing No. 2 Santa Rosa. The Cougars pulled off a dramatic victory over Mt. SAC by winning 5-4 on penalty kicks after regulation ended in a 1-1 tie. Chinchilla made a clutch save on the Mounties' first attempt, providing all the margin Taft would need. Head coach Angelo Cutrona characterized the last two games as the toughest of the season. "There's just a tremendous amount of talent on both of those teams," he said. "We were the underdogs going into the tournament, and we have a feeling a little bit that we stole it this year."
Cutrona's modesty aside, Taft entered the season with high expectations. The Cougars lost a 1-0 heart-breaker to Cerritos in last year's championship game but still ended up ranked No. 4 nationally. Taft got off to a surprisingly slow start this year despite the return of 13 sophomores. The low point of the season came on Oct. 5, when the Cougars lost 4-3 to College of Sequoias, suffering their third defeat in four games. Yet the Cougars kept faith and regrouped to win their final 12 games of the season to claim the championship.
Credit Cutrona, the Central Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2006, for helping the team rebound. After experimenting with different combinations during the slow start, Cutrona settled on a 4-4-2 alignment: four defenders, four midfielders, and two forwards. "We eventually got into that formation, and it just worked better for our team," said Cutrona. "I don't necessarily use the same formation every year. I try to look at what the team has to offer with individual talent and build a formation around those individuals, instead of trying to build individuals around my formation."
Cutrona identified Taft's 3-0 victory over Fresno City College on Oct. 19 as the turning point of the season. "We dominated the entire game and stopped two of the best forwards in the state, one of which [Andrew Felt] got [second-team] All-American," he said. "We faced Fresno City three times, and we shut them out three times. That's when, between the coaches, we said, 'You know what? This team is the real deal, we got a great defense, and we can do this.' That was the pivotal point, I think."
With the Cougar's state championship following last season's runner-up finish, Cutrona is building a soccer dynasty on the Westside. Although there is no competition to determine a national champion, Cutrona is hopeful that Taft (19-4-3) will receive a high ranking. Cutrona said, "We’re still waiting on the national pool. We’re looking at No. 2 in the nation or quite possibly No. 1, but I believe it’s going to be a difficult decision for the judges. We have our fingers crossed."
The youthful Cutrona brings solid soccer experience to Taft College. He grew up in Orange County and won a CIF title in high school soccer, then won the 2000 NCAA Division II national championship playing for Cal State Dominguez Hills. After graduation, he became an assistant coach at Fullerton College under Jim Gasso, whom Cutrona still considers to be his mentor. Cutrona became Taft's head coach six years ago and has worked hard to build up a strong program even though Taft regularly competes against much larger schools. "The only way we can win here is through hard work," Cutrona said. "Hard work, dedication, long hours.... Soccer's my passion so I like putting in the hours. I had to look hard and pick up players that were willing to do the same thing."
Yet Cutrona doesn't measure success only in terms of on-field performance. In his six years at Taft College, he has helped many of his former players move on to play soccer and earn degrees at four-year schools like UC Irvine, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State Fullerton, and UNLV. Cutrona said, "It's a big part of my job.... It's not just about winning, or winning titles or awards, it's about these guys going on to play and fit in at the next level. Not only to get to the next level but be able to compete at the next level. Getting them prepared, that's my job."
Many of this year's players are being scouted, and this week in particular Cutrona has been talking with coaches about scholarships while telling his players to study. "I asked the guys to get to the LRC [Learning Resource Center] and put in a little work, academically," he said.
Meanwhile, Cutrona is already excited about next year. Nine freshmen will return, including Valle and two other key starters, defenders Osvaldo Lopez and Taylor Rivas. "Those [two] are some tough dudes," Cutrona said.
"If we don't get a national title this year, next year the guys are gonna have to look really hard at getting a great record, right at the beginning," he said. "Zero losses, that would be nice. So that's something to shoot for."
