By Will Steichen 
Idyllwild Community Center Director 

The 2019 Idyllwild Community Center youth soccer season has come to an end with a thrilling overtime game in the 10- to 14-year-old division. The Idyllwild Stars defeated the Crusaders in an overtime shootout. Oliver Gonzalez scored a goal in the first half to give the Idyllwild Stars a 1-0 lead. Crusaders’ Cody Fogle scored a goal in the second half to tie the game 1-1. After a 10-minute overtime, the game remained tied at 1-1. With great goalkeeping, the Idyllwild Stars were able to win the championship in the shootout, 3-1. Congratulations to both teams for an incredible season! 

The 4- to 6-year-old division finished off its season with two more great defensive games. Renegades’ Finn Kellgren was outstanding in the net and Beau Dillon was fantastic all over the field for the Royal Knights. Red Hawk’s Uriah Cruz and Danielle Rodriguez were stars in their game against the Blue Monsters. Olivia Mesia and Charlotte Taylor played outstanding for the Blue Monsters. This division maintained strong defense all year with many low scoring and shutout games through the season. Way to go! 

  In the first 7- to 9-year-old division playoff game, Liverpool defeated the Dragons 1-0. Ben Taylor scored the only goal of the game and Luke Olivier was phenomenal in the net for Liverpool. Jack Taylor played a great game defensively for the Dragons as did Miles Sechrest. 

In the championship game, Dane Knight scored a penalty kick goal with two minutes left in the game for a 1-0 Idyllwild victory over Liverpool. Luke Olivier, as he has done all year, was outstanding in goal for Liverpool. Roger Gonzalez was also outstanding in the net for Idyllwild. What a great season for the 7- to 9-year-old division as the games were close, well-played and competitive. 

Hats off to all the coaches this year as they decided to have more practices, which really paid off with all of the close games and player improvement week to week. Great call coaches! 

  A special thank you to the players, coaches, parents and community for their support! Thank you to Idyllwild School and Principal Matt Kraemer for the use of the facility. Thank you to the sponsors: Idyllwild Heating and Cooling, Idyllwild Shell (two sponsorships), American Legion Post 800, Suburban Propane, FERRO, Idyllwild Brewpub and Muirs Mountain Realty (two sponsorships).