The game's only goal came 20 minutes into the first half, when Heritage freshman Eduardo Chavez was fouled hard on a scoring opportunity in De La Salle territory. Fellow freshman Alex Doyle, the team's leading scorer, was assigned the penalty kick, which sailed perfectly between the bars to give the Patriots the 1-0 advantage. Over the next 60 minutes the stout Heritage defense, led by Kolby Willmes, Mike Navarro, Dylan Fontes and Chavez, prevented the host Spartans from ever getting onto the scoreboard.
Head coach Mike Krahnke, who will lead his Patriots into varsity action next season, said the victory not only inspired team unity, it also proved to his players that they are ready for the next level.
"This was huge for us," Krahnke said. "We were really on a roll before that game but that was the icing on the cake. It helped the morale of the team and boosted confidence in the future of the program. It can't get any better than that."
Last Thursday the Patriots saw their tremendous streak end at the hands of Pittsburg by a score of 2-1. Heritage was hoping to avenge its Jan. 2 loss to the Pirates but fell just short. Pittsburg is the only team that has beaten Krahnke's squad twice in Bay Valley Athletic League action.
"That really hurt us," he said. "We really would like to have beaten them."
The team's only other losses have been to De La Salle, Clayton Valley and Antioch, all in the first half of the season.
"The fact that we've made such a great run in the second half says so much about this team," Krahnke said. "As a unit they really work hard. Everybody's buying into what we're teaching them. We have a lot to look forward to as we move up to varsity next season."
The Patriots ended their season against Antioch on Thursday after the Brentwood Press went to print.
"That's gonna be a battle," Krahnke said earlier in the week. "We really want to avenge that loss."
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