SAN JOSE — The Watsonville Wildcatz had the possession. They had the scoring opportunities. They had the history.
But the Lincoln Lions had the goal and that’s all they needed.
Junior forward Ramon Inda Felix scored in the third minute of overtime to help the No. 8-seeded Lions knock off the No. 2-seeded Wildcatz, 1-0, in the Central Coast Section Division I championship game on Saturday at Valley Christian.
Playing in its 18th section final and looking for its 12th CCS title, Watsonville (14-7-3) constantly peppered Lincoln (14-4-6) with long-range attempts at goal but never found the score it needed to walk away as champion.
Lincoln, which repeated as the D-I champ for its second title, had only a handful of good looks but took advantage on a blink-of-an-eye counter attack jumpstarted by senior midfielder Michael Robles.
“We just didn’t put in the shots we should’ve,” said Watsonville head coach Roland Hedgpeth. “That’s what it boils down to. We had our chances. We had many chances. Didn’t quite do it.”
And the Lions let the Wildcatz, and their hundreds of fans in attendance, know. Several Lincoln players held their fingers up against their lips signaling to the Watsonville faithful to quiet down. Others made and “L” shape with their hands and Felix wrapped his hands around his neck, gesturing that the Wildcatz, several of which fell to the ground with their jerseys pulled over their heads after the final whistle, had not only lost but choked away a shot at a title.
“It feels amazing,” said Lincoln senior defender Brian Ocampo, who was booed by some of the Watsonville fans as he walked up and accepted the winner’s trophy after the game. “At first there was a little doubt but once we came in the second half ready to go we got it.”
Watsonville, which started the year nationally ranked after winning the inaugural CCS Open Division, had turned around its season with eight straight victories, including a momentum-building 1-0 win against Menlo-Atherton on Wednesday night in the semifinal round.
But Lincoln’s defense, powered by 6-foot-1 Ocampo, physically pestered the Wildcatz for the majority of the night, forcing them to settle for shots from 20 to 30 yards out. Several looked promising but curved away from their intended mark at the last second. They had 12 shots on goal.
Watsonville’s best look came late in the second half on senior Armando Ferro’s free kick into the box. Senior Agustin Sorroza, sophomore Angel Quinonez-Figueroa and junior Erik Herrera all shot from 10 yards away in a matter of seconds but each time the ball ricocheted off a Lincoln defender.
“We dominated but we just couldn’t finish,” said Watsonville senior midfielder/defender Francisco Gonzales. “They just got one lucky goal.”
Not many thought Watsonville would make it to the playoffs, let alone to a CCS final, at the midway point of the season. The Wildcatz, which have not missed the postseason since 1976, were sitting near the bottom of the Monterey Bay League Gabilan division and had won only once in eight games before flipping the switch and morphing into their usual powerhouse selves.
They will graduate 13 seniors, including five starters: Armando Ferro, Ulises Cristino-Lopez, Noe Robledo, Sorroza and Gonzales.
“I think it was a pretty good season,” Gonzales said. “We started off pretty bad but I’m happy we made it all the way to the finals. We didn’t get first place but we gave it our all.”
