Sports

North Park team wins state crown

Team survived illnesses, injuries to claim victory

Garden Grove – San Diego's North Park U-14 All-Stars clinched the AYSO's State Championship on Sunday afternoon, beating Lompoc 5-2.

The team reached the final after surviving a scare in the morning semifinal, at one point trailing 3-1, only to rally in the second half, winning 4-3 against Redondo Beach.

Winning the All-Star State Championship eased the sting the North Park players felt after losing the regular U-14 final on Saturday, 3-2, to Stockton.

About two-thirds of those players make up North Park's All-Star team, and on Sunday they were determined to force a different outcome.

"Second place is nice," the team's coach, Mario Ramirez, said, "but there's nothing like coming in first."

As they have played all season long, the North Park players shook off illness, bruising collisions and hard landings.

In the third quarter of the final, a Lompoc player sharply elbowed the team's leading scorer, Manuel Lopez, in the face, crumpling him to the ground.

Dozens of family members, who traveled to this Orange County city to see the boys play, waited in anxious silence.

A few minutes later, his coach helped Manuel to his feet, and play resumed.

Manuel did not lose a step, scoring a goal a few moments later. In all, he scored four goals in the final, with teammate Erick Portillo scoring the fifth.

One of the tournament organizers estimated that 500 to 600 teams from Northern California to the Mexican border participated in playoffs.

On Sunday afternoon, each North Park boy was awarded a heavy, gold-colored medal bearing the word "Champion."

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