Mater Dei boys soccer beats Orange Lutheran for second Open Division title

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ORANGE — Mater Dei co-captain James Obleda crouched toward his teammates with the prize tucked under his arms. The senior midfielder then sprung into the air as the Monarchs raised their golden plaque and chanted together.

Mater Dei celebrated its return to the top of CIF Southern Section boys soccer by defeating rival Orange Lutheran 2-0 in the Open Division final at El Modena High on Saturday.

Behind first-half goals by Santiago Schelotto and Isaih Covarrubias and the goalkeeping of Nate Enriquez, No. 2-seeded Mater Dei (17-1-3) claimed its second Open title in three seasons under coach Sean Ganey.

“This was a group that had been waiting their turn for probably three to four years,” said a drenched Ganey. “Guys who didn’t play any minutes or just played some minutes last year, and they stepped up and embraced the role and come together as a team.”

“I get tears in my eyes thinking about that stuff,” the coach added. “That’s the culture.”

Schelotto, a senior forward, continued to showcase his rise in the program. After nearly scoring off the opening kickoff, he blasted a goal in the sixth minute after an attempted clearance by Orange Lutheran’s defense.

“Santi waited his turn,” Ganey said. “Maybe Santi had a couple goals last year and now he’s our leading scorer (with 14 goals). He was huge.”

Mater Dei extended its lead to 2-0 in the 26th minute on a header by Covarrubias off a long throw-in into the box by sophomore Kai Cowan.

“Every morning, he comes into my room to get balls to go work,” Ganey said of Covarrubias, a senior defender.

No. 8 seeded Orange Lutheran (13-4-4) raised its level in the second half.

Goalie Jacob Aguilar stopped a hard shot with about 24 minutes left in regulation. The Lancers later drew a second yellow card on a player that forced Mater Dei to play a man down for the final 10 minutes.

The Lancers’ almost scored on a late redirect by Maxwell Hernandez but Enriquez made a point-blank save with about six minutes left. Hernandez played a cross by Kyler Firouznam.

“Second half, we kind of settled into the game, starting play our game,” said Orange Lutheran coach Mike Oseguera, whose team upset No. 1 seed Palos Verdes in the opening series. “What a save by (Enriquez).”

Ganey also praised the defense of center backs Covarrubias and Ashton Jones, along with Devin Madero.

Madero filed for injured Danny Carriedo and helped marked Firouznam, Orange Lutheran’s top scorer.

“We were ready because we knew the job was not done,” Schelotto said. “It’s a pretty good rivalry since (Orange Lutheran) is really good.”

Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran faced off twice earlier in the season in the Trinity League.

The Monarchs claimed a 2-1 triumph in the first round and teams played to a draw in the second match.

Both teams continue their seasons next week in the CIF Southern California Regional.