MOORPARK — The players on the Moorpark boys soccer team closed in around head coach Manny Galvez singing “Sweet Caroline” and bearing the gift of a money tree — a symbol of good luck and prosperity.
Fortune favored the Musketeers on Monday night as they beat Oak Park, 1-0, on senior night to take control of the Coastal Canyon League.
The night embodied the bond created through a season of ups and downs and strengthened in the last week after Galvez’s mother died after a battle with cancer.
“As long as we’re together, we’re going to be difficult to beat,” Galvez said.
Moorpark moved into first place in league after the win. Oak Park has one league game left, against Camarillo, which gives it a chance to at least share the league title.
Oak Park at Moorpark boys soccer should be competitive tonight. These two teams played to a 2-2 overtime draw earlier this season.
This will determine the Coastal Canyon League champion. pic.twitter.com/deOHhMRjdn
— Haley Sawyer (@haleymsawyer) January 30, 2024
Oak Park battled until the final whistle, with goalkeeper Artun Vance playing up at the 50-yard line and every other player applying pressure in front of him.
“That’s been kind of a hallmark for this team,” Eagles coach Brandon Heidt said. “Especially the last 20 minutes has been a positive note. Tonight we didn’t overcome the deficit, but that has been a positive trend with this group.”
Moorpark capitalized on the fast pace of the game and was the aggressor in the first half of play. The Musketeers peppered Vance with shots and had two opportunities to score on corner kicks, but the Eagles cleared the ball each time.
Armando Acevedo scored the game’s lone goal on a penalty kick at the 68-minute mark with a shot to the left, bottom corner of the net. It was especially satisfying for Acevedo, considering he scored a late goal in the two teams’ previous meeting to send the match to overtime.
“This is my senior year and it’s my senior day and I get to win the game,” Acevedo said. “I’ve been trying to beat them for a very long time and I finally get to do it.”
The Musketeers took the time to grow together this season through a challenging stretch of tournaments and nonleague games. At one point in late December, they were handed back-to-back 5-0 shutouts by Taft and Bishop Amat.
Slowly, the team started to mesh and injured players returned to the lineup while Moorpark worked its way through a 23-game slate before it began league play. Galvez said the team really started to click two games into Coastal Canyon League play.
“It was a very, very long preseason,” he said. “To get to this point, we took a little bit of our lumps in preseason and it just came to this point where we came together and were able to put together a good win.”
The CIF Southern Section will release the boys soccer playoff brackets on Saturday. The Musketeers hope to avenge last season’s first-round loss to Loyola in Division 2 with their newfound strength this season.
“I’d do the season over again with the same losses and the same wins,” Acevedo said, “because it was such an experience that I’ll never take back. They’re a great group of gentlemen out there.”
