The Skyline Conference title race may have come down to the wire, but the same could not be said for the deciding game Tuesday.
Henley (10-2-2, 6-1-1) scored in the 2nd, 19th and 27th minutes en route to a 3-1 win over Klamath Union (9-2-2, 5-2-1) that gave the Hornets their fourth straight league championship. The visiting Pelicans had allowed six goals in their first 12 games and had not conceded more than once in any of them.
“I’m just happy that we played our game,” Henley head coach Lupe Gonzales said. “We had something to redeem ourselves for [with] the way we played the first time we played them.”
In the Hornets’ first matchup with Klamath Union Oct. 10, the teams traded goals in the 6th and 7th minutes and seemed headed for a draw before Pelicans junior Caleb Morton scored the game-winner in the 74th minute. It was Klamath Union’s first win over Henley since 2013.
“Last time, I think we were kind of in a funk,” Gonzales said. “We weren’t really that focused, and we let them dictate the tempo and we let them control the midfield. That was the difference today.”
Junior Layne Worrell–the reigning Skyline Conference Player of the Year–put the Hornets up 1-0 when his close-range shot trickled in at the left post. It was his 14th goal of the season. The Pelicans tried to find a quick answer for the early strike (as they did in the first game) but were unable to capitalize on corner kicks in the 3rd and 4th minutes.
Henley doubled its lead when sophomore Diego Ramirez launched a deep free kick toward the penalty area, where it took a bounce and snuck into the net just below the crossbar. It was his second goal of the season, with the first coming on another free kick against Phoenix Oct. 14.
The Hornets’ third goal was the second of the season for senior Jesus Flores, who forced a goalkeeper turnover after applying pressure in the penalty area.
“I put pressure and won the ball, and I saw his legs open and decided to go through his legs,” Flores said.
In the 38th minute, Henley sophomore goalkeeper Ivan Garcia collided hard with a Pelicans player while going for the ball just outside the box. The center referee determined that Garcia had committed an SPA (stopping a promising attack) foul, warranting a yellow card and a Klamath Union free kick. This forced Garcia to come out of the game until the next substitution window and sophomore Luke Balzotti–normally an outfield player–to take his spot in goal with no warmup. Morton sent the ball over Balzotti’s outstretched hand and into the top right corner for what would be the Pelicans’ only goal.
Subbed back in soon after, Garcia went on to make several big saves to preserve Henley’s lead in the second half, including a sliding catch on a deep free kick in the 43rd minute. Unlike the first matchup, in which Klamath Union seized control of the game around the 65th minute, the Hornets maintained a solid hold down the stretch in both teams’ regular season finale.
“We knew that if we wanted it, we had to prove it, and we had to go get it,” Gonzales said.
The win gives Henley its 14th league championship, with half coming under Gonzales. He joins Rod Husain as the only head coaches in program history to win four in a row (Husain’s four-peat happened in 1989-1992). Had Tuesday’s game ended in a draw, the Hornets would have shared the title for the second straight year, doing so with Hidden Valley last season. Klamath Union has not won a Skyline Conference championship since 2011.
“I’m very happy for our team, but honestly, I would have been okay with tying with KU,” Gonzales said. “I have so much respect for their coaches [and] so much respect for their players.”
Henley will be the No. 4 seed in the 4A playoffs, and Klamath Union will be the No. 9 seed. It will be the Pelicans’ first playoff appearance since 2012. The first round is scheduled for Nov. 5; Klamath Union will travel to No. 8 seed and Cowapa League champion Tillamook (9-3-2), while Henley’s opponent will be determined following the play-in round Saturday.