Marquez defeats Fremont in a shootout during finals of South East Winter Classic

The City Section soccer playoffs are still two months away, but Marquez established itself as a major threat to win the boys Division I title after defeating Fremont 4 2 in a shootout in the finals of the South East Winter Classic on Tuesday night at Gahr High in Cerritos. Sophomore Marvin Vasquez stepped to the penalty spot and calmly fired the game winning kick inside the right post, setting off a wild celebration by the Gladiators (8 1 4).

Goalkeeper Irvin Yanez made two saves, the second when he dove to his right to get his glove on a low shot that ricocheted off the goal post and back onto the field of play, never crossing the line. “Once I saw our goalie block the second shot I knew I had a chance to end it,” Vasquez said. “I was confident I’d make it, I picked a side and went for it.

Looking at his feet, I noticed the goalie leaning to the other side, so I chose the opposite corner.” Senior defender Edgar Auscencio, who had five assists in the tournament, was named most valuable player and presented a new soccer ball and Yanez took home the best goalkeeper trophy. “Winning this is a big deal because there were a lot of good teams at this tournament and we came out on top,” Vasquez added.

“Our team is closer than ever, we play for each other, the chemistry is great and we definitely want to win City.” The first 40 minutes were evenly played, with each side generating quality chances but not able to finish. The score was tied 0 0 at the end of regulation. The Pathfinders (14 1 2) earned six corner kicks in the second half but were unable to capitalize and senior forward Franklin Orellena narrowly missed two direct free kicks from just outside of the penalty area.

This year, the tournament expanded from 24 to 32 teams, all but four of them representing the City Section. The field was broken down into eight groups of four teams each, with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stage. Fremont tied Fairfax 1 1 before beating Camino Nuevo 3 0, Sotomayor 5 0, Animo Bunche 2 1, King/Drew 2 0 and Palisades 2 1 on its way to the final.

Marquez tied Wilson 2 2 then blanked Animo Bunche 3 0, beat Morningside by forfeit, shut out Fairfax 3 0 and Hamilton 2 0 and edged Torres on penalties en route to the final. Fremont forward Joshua Valenzuela, goalie Adrian Trujillo and midfielder Ricky Molina made the all tournament first team as did Marquez forward Ruben Rodriguez.

2011 12 Winner: South Runner up: East Locke 2012 13 Winner: South Runner up: East Locke 2013 14 Winner: Locke Runner up: South East 2014 15 Winner: South Gate Runner up: West Adams 2015 16 Winner: Fremont Runner up: South Gate 2016 17 Winner: Granada Hills Runner up: Locke 2017 18 Winner: South Gate Runner up: Sotomayor 2018 19 Winner: Jefferson Runner up: Locke 2019 20 Winner: Marquez Runner up: Bright Star 2020 21 Canceled 2021 22 Winner: Birmingham Runner up: South East 2022 23 Winner: Bell Runner up: South East 2023 24 Winner: Marquez Runner up: Fremont.