Sosa lifts Agoura High boys soccer team to another Marmonte League title
Justin Sosa already had one Marmonte League boys soccer MVP award to his name.
With another championship on the line Friday night at Westlake High, the senior attacker showed why he and his teammates deserve to retain their elite statuses this year.
Sosa had two goals and an assist as the Agoura High boys soccer team successfully defended the Marmonte League championship with a 3-0 win at co-leaders Westlake on Friday night in the final game of the regular season.
“Justin is a phenomenal player,” Agoura coach Jaime Alvarado said. “He’s a special player who can take you on one on one, can shoot from anywhere, he’s a clinical finisher. Everybody has his back and he has theirs.”
Agoura held its nerve through a wild race that included nearly the entire league in the final week. Five of the six teams in the league were separated by just two points in the standings entering Thursday.
“I’m really proud of the way the boys handled themselves through the defeats,” Alvarado said. “It was not easy going over that hump. … That mental toughness really showed through the whole second leg. We were just more disciplined.”
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By Friday, Agoura (9-5-3, 6-2-2) and Westlake (12-8-5, 5-3-2) were tied atop the standings with 17 points with just their showdown to play.
“It was a tight race with a lot of teams,” Sosa said. “Everybody was winning games. It was a lot of competition throughout. We had to win the game (Thursday night) against Calabasas. We ended up doing it. (Friday), we got it done again.”
The senior striker volleyed in the opening goal in the 12th minute, nodded in the second goal from close range in the 65th minute and put Devin Bening clean through on goal for the third goal three minutes later.
“Being able to carry on the legacy, doing it with a new team with a lot of new players, means a lot to me,” Sosa said.
Defenders Daniel Barreto and Matthew LeValley helped freshman goalie Luke Bussierre keep Agoura third shutout in the last four matches of the season.
It was the second straight season Agoura triumphed on the final night of the regular season with the title in the balance.
A year ago, Sosa had a goal and an assist and his older brother Brandon had a hat trick as Agoura topped Calabasas, 4-0, on the final day to clinch the league title.
“I knew that with Brandon gone, he would have more weight on his shoulders, but he wore it every single game,” Alvarado said. “He carried it like it was nothing.”
Joe Curley covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Sosa lifts Agoura High boys soccer to Marmonte League title
