JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers VICTORY LAP- Oaks Christian soccer players, in the forefront from left, Andrew Bierschenk, JohnPaul Herold and Chris Lee show the OCHS fans the CIF-SS Division V championship plaque. As Oaks Christian senior John-Paul Herold walked toward the sideline during halftime of the CIFSouthern Section Division V boys' soccer championship last Saturday at Warren High in Downey, he muttered, "We can't have any more missed opportunities."

When Herold lined up for a 40-yard free kick in the second half, he stayed true to his word.

Herold's goal in the 54th minute against Hesperia High gave the Lions a 2-1 lead, which they would protect en route to capturing the Division V championship, the first CIF title in Oaks Christian boys' soccer history.

"At first, I wasn't even going to take the free kick," Herold said of his game-winning shot. "When I decided to take it, I just wanted to kick the crap out of it and kick it into the far post. This wasn't the first free kick I've ever made, but it was by far the best."

After the game, OCHS head coach Sebastian Alvarado was amazed at Herold's goal.

"That is one of the greatest goals I've ever seen in high school," Alvarado said.

"The Acorn always calls us a 'football school.' With two soccer championships today (the girls' squad won earlier on the same pitch), we definitely proved that, yes, we are a 'futbol school.'"

Early in the match, it looked like Oaks Christian might coast to an easy win.

In the 12th minute, OCHS sophomore forward Patrick Harmon scored to put the Lions up 1-0. For the next five minutes Oaks Christian had the ball in its zone, with many chances to extend the lead, but couldn't convert.

Hesperia took advantage of its good fortune by tying the contest in the 22nd minute on a Roberto Rangel goal that went just over the outstretched hands of OCHS goalkeeper Cody Thompson.

With the teams deadlocked at halftime, Alvarado encouraged the Lions to pick up their intensity.

"We were flat the last 20 minutes of the first half," Alvarado said. "We had three good scoring opportunities that we should have converted on. I told my team to calm down, but we didn't change our game plan."

After Herold's goal, Thompson and the OCHS defense held Hesperia in check.

The Scorpions went down fighting, as Hesperia senior Aldred Barrientos shot a ball that hit the crossbar just above Thompson, a freshman who took over in the net for the injured Conor Mason earlier in the season.

Thompson "did a great job for us today," Alvarado said. "The kid just turned 14 years old, and for him to stay in the game and play the way he did in this environment against 18-year-olds is something. He played a great second half."

Herold said that minutes before their game started, the team became even more determined to win. Before taking the pitch, the Lion boys watched the Oaks Christian girls' team win a title of its own and receive its trophy on the 50-yard line.

"It motivated us, that's for sure," Herold said. "If they won, we were going to give it our all to win a title ourselves."

After the match, Herold said the road to winning the championship was full of peril.

"We've had some unbelievable highs with the games we've won," Herold said. "The two previous games were some of the craziest I've ever played in. . . .

"This game wasn't any easier. Hesperia is an awesome team. Their whole team, especially their two center-midfielders, were very good. We really had to focus to beat them."

Alvarado said he was proud of the way his players stepped.

"The last couple of games were really tough," Alvarado said. "The team really showed a lot of character in those games. We were here four years ago, and that was a great experience, but nothing like this."