High Desert Soccer: Hesperia tops Adelanto in a battle of reigning MRL and DSL champions
In a battle of reigning league champions, the Hesperia boys soccer team came out on top as Jorge Negrete provided the offense in a 2-0 victory over Adelanto on Tuesday afternoon.
The matchup at Julian Weaver Stadium saw the Scorpions, the reigning Mojave River League champions, against last year’s Desert Sky League champions.
Adelanto played in a defensive manner against Hesperia, which competed in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 playoffs last year.
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The Scorpions started the game in a 3-5-2 formation, which is unlike their normal formation, and was suggested to head coach Michael Michel by his players.
“These guys wanted to try something new and I respect this team, this team respects me so I wanted to try their formation. We had a lot of opportunities but I wanted to finish strong so in the second half we started with our main formation and it came out beautifully,” Michel said, who is in his first season as head coach at Hesperia following Luis Luviano’s departure.
Hesperia created chances with the new formation in the first half but was unable to put anything away. Adelanto’s low block and key saves from goalkeeper Ivan Gil kept the Scorpions off the board.
After switching formations for the second half it did not take long to break through Adelanto’s defense.
Less than six minutes after the start of the second half, full-back Frankie Cruz crossed the ball near the right byline to midfielder Negrete, who had already had a few shots on goal in the first half. Negrete fired the ball past Gil to give Hesperia the lead.
“Him (Negrete) and Luca Fragoso are two amazing individual players so in the second formation when we have a double CAM system it allows them both to be free,” Michel said.
The rest of the half saw Hesperia trying to increase its lead while Adelanto put its best shots forward to tie the game.
Hesperia held on to the lead and scored again on the last play of the game as Negrete found the back of the net on an assist from Anthony Hernandez.
What it means
It's early in the season, but it was a big showdown between two of the better programs in the High Desert.
The Scorpions are continuing where they left off last season with a 4-0 start, and now have three victories over DSL teams in Adelanto, Barstow and Victor Valley.
Adelanto hit its first snag of the season with a loss against a tough Hesperia team, after entering the contest with a massive plus-15 goal differential in two games.
Key play
Cruz’s assist into Negrete’s goal was the play of the match. Cruz sent a great ball right to Negrete who found himself uncontested in front of goal. He won his one-on-one with Gil and gave the Scorpions the only goal they needed.
Players of the Match
Negrete’s two goals gave Hesperia the win and his few shots on goal in the first half kept the pressure on Adelanto.
Gil held Negrete at bay in the first half, blocking at least two of his shots. The second one a screamer from Negrete that Gil dove and blocked away right before the end of the first half.
They said it
Adelanto head coach Orlando Hernandez on how his team felt coming into this game: “They were ready for Hesperia. They knew Hesperia was tough but they came out here and showed they are tough as well.”
Michel on the start to the season: “Today was our first game having our club players back. We were down 15 players at the start of the season but to have our players back and connected now, I can’t wait for the rest of the season.”
What’s next
Both teams are back in action later this week against tough opponents. Adelanto hits the road Thursday for another Division 2 foe in Artesia. Hesperia will be home Friday against Oak Park, which is a Division 1 team.
Hesperia and Oak Park faced off in the Division 3 quarterfinals back in 2022. Hesperia pulled off a 3-1 victory in a penalty kick shootout.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: High Desert Soccer: Hesperia tops Adelanto in battle of league champions
