Gaels win state title for coaching family

“This is such an amazing feeling right now,” the Bishop Gorman boys soccer coach said after his Gaels beat the Douglas Tigers 1-0 to capture the Class 4A state title. “Every accolade I get, everything I accomplish is in honor of my father.”

The Gaels won their second consecutive state title with the memory of former coach Victor Arbelaez fresh in their minds. Arbelaez, a soccer coach at Bishop Gorman for two decades, died Oct. 11.

“We wanted to do this for our coaches, all of them,” said Gaels junior Nick Eary, who scored the game’s only goal against Douglas with 17 minutes to play in the second half. “This whole team just came together this year.”

Arbelaez told his team how proud he was of them and then turned and thanked the 100 or so Gorman parents and fans for their support this season. He then found a few private moments as his team celebrated on the field.

“I’ve never seen any group come together and regroup the way this team did,” Arbelaez said. “I am so proud of them and so thankful for what they did. That’s why I knew this team would pull through today. They know what it takes to win a big game and overcome adversity.”

Bishop Gorman (16-1-3) became the first school to win back-to-back large-school state titles since Bonanza in 1995 (Class 3A) and 1996 (Class 4A). The Gaels have now won three Class 4A state titles over the past six years and four titles overall (the school also won a Class 3A state championship in 1992).

“This whole year this team struggled to score,” Eary said. “But we never give up. We keep battling.”

Eary beat Douglas goalkeeper Jose Alcaraz from about 10 yards in front of the net.

“I just made a run across the back of the box,” Eary said. “I was just in the right place at the right time. It was an unbelievable feeling.”

Arbelaez, who also coached the Gaels to the state title a year ago after taking over the team from his ailing father, wasn’t surprised it was Eary who scored the biggest goal of the season.

“Not at all,” Arbelaez said with a smile. “He also scored the game winner last year in the state finals. The kid just knows how to finish plays.”

Gorman beat Silverado 3-2 in last year’s title game at Cimarron-Memorial.

“This is just so great,” said Gorman goalkeeper JoJo Vitale, who earned a pair of 1-0 shutout victories over South Tahoe and Douglas this weekend at Damonte Ranch in the semifinals and finals. “To come through after all we went through this year is such a great feeling.”

Vitale wasn’t tested at all in the first half as the Gaels held Douglas without a shot on goal. Gorman dominated the first half but had to settle for a 0-0 tie.

“You don’t want to know what I said at halftime,” Arbelaez said. “But I just reminded them that we just needed to go out and play our game and things will be all right. We’re lucky we got that goal.”

The Gaels definitely did not want the game to go to overtime or a shootout.

“No, not at all,” Arbelaez said. “We had to do that too much already this year.”

Eary and teammates John Vaccaro, Austin Cain and Adam Knaff all had scoring opportunities in the second half with the game still scoreless but failed to convert.