Vail Ranch Middle School Soccer Celebrates 2018 Championship

TEMECULA, CA — It was a stellar winning season for the Vail Ranch Middle School Soccer team and coach Joel Morgan. The kids finished strong, with 5 wins, no losses and two ties to complete their 2018 season. With each home game, the crowds grew as students, faculty and fans gathered to watch their soccer team and cheer them on to victory.

"The final game was very exciting," Coach Joel Morgan told Patch. "I definitely credit the school for putting out a lot of announcements in regards to the games."

In the final game, the sideline and hill above the lower field was packed with parents and fans. In addition, last year’s VRMS coach Mike Richards, along with several soccer team alumni and teammates from Temecula United Soccer Club, were in attendance to support the current soccer team. Morgan, a Temecula United Boys 2005 team coach, has worked with valley youth at TU for the past 3 years. His two children, 6th and 8th grade, both attend VRMS. According to Morgan, the culture of TU soccer matches his coaching style, which is supportive and player focused.

"As a coach you need to make sure your team has a strong set of the basic soccer skills. With the middle school soccer season being so short, I took a different approach," Morgan said. "Since most of these players are club soccer players, I left the core competencies to those coaches. I told the players early on that I would be focusing on competitive small sided games and game type situations. I wanted the players to get familiar with each other and playing together as a team. This formula worked well and the team chemistry increased dramatically."

Morgan took 21 players from multiple clubs across the valley and guided them to form a cohesive team. The support of the school also made the journey to the finals exhilarating for both coach and players.

"The energy level was really high. You could hear loud cheers and groans as the two teams battled it out on the pitch," Morgan said. "I felt that the very positive and enthusiastic crowd helped the team bring their game to a higher level."

VRMS had a match against Gardner to open this year’s season. Vail prevailed in that match 3-1. The final game was a much different match.

"Both teams came to play a tough game," Morgan said. "The game was tied through regulation and two overtime periods, and was decided by penalty kicks.

Justen Morgan, the Goal keeper for VRMS, made a critical save on Gardner’s fifth and final PK attempt, and if VRMS scored the game was over. VRMS 8th grader Zane Cadogan buried the final PK and VRMS took home the championship.

Photo, courtesy Joel Morgan: Front Row Left to Right Dylan Beeson, Daimy Carrillo, Santiago Alvarez, Ken Watanasiripong, Brayan Saucedo, Noah Vasquez, Kelsey Williams, Ella Albertsen, Jacob Brubaker

Back Row Left to Right Gwen Rosser, Divine Torza, Talia Stacy, Christina Lowery, Josh Alcantara, Coach Joel Morgan, Chase Koptieff, Justen Morgan, Zaven Ruvalcaba, Jesse Grasso, Braden Sparks, Zane Cadogan Not Pictured Katie Deaso