Fountain Valley rally falls short against Warren

Fountain Valley erased a pair of one-goal deficits in the second half, but visiting Downey Warren walked away the winner in a CIF Southern Section Division 3 boys’ soccer opener decided by penalty kicks on Wednesday afternoon.

Ezequiel Santana, Nicolas De Leon, Dylan Sears and Christian Alvarez scored in the shootout for Warren (12-6-4), the Gateway League champion.

The Bears took their kicks low and to the corners in the skills competition after several near misses in extra time, including a Sears shot that was driven off the left elbow of the goal in the 89th minute.

Gideon Griffiths converted as the initial selection for Fountain Valley (10-5-1), which was the second-place team in the Sunset League. Drew Payne’s attempt went over the goal, before Nixon Hunt struck the crossbar.

Duel Hernandez-Vasquez scored on the fourth kick for Fountain Valley, but Alvarez continued his side’s success in the shootout, which had the Bears dancing in the rain.

Payne and Hunt supplied a key connection for Fountain Valley in regulation. Hunt provided stretch passes up the left wing on the Barons’ opening and final markers, which accounted for Payne’s 15th and 16th goals of the season.

It took just four minutes for Payne to find the back of the net. The senior captain corralled the deep ball shy of the corner flag, then worked back to the 15-yard line to improve his shooting angle before sending the ball on a hop inside the far post.

Warren played with possession for the majority of the first half, and the Bears were rewarded with two goals late in the opening stanza. Diego Montes cashed in on a penalty kick in the 35th minute.

Adrian Soto Diaz then exhibited deft touch to deflect in a cross from Sebastian Pelayo in the 39th minute.

Fountain Valley changed systems to a 3-5-2 formation after halftime, and the Barons applied more pressure as a result.

A free kick from the 40-yard line by Ethan Ro found the head of Payne, who flicked it across the box. Cash Heit crashed the net and scored to make it 2-2 in the 54th minute.

Only three minutes later, Warren was awarded another penalty kick for a hand ball in the box. Montes’ aim was true once more.

The duo that combined on the game’s first goal linked up again in the 71st minute. Payne ran onto Hunt’s deep ball, sprinting down the left side and lifting the equalizer into the top left corner.