Lakeside Soccer Coach Talks About His Team's Big CIF Win

During Saturday’s boys soccer CIF final between Lakeside and Cajon high schools, it was the Lancers left holding the championship plaque despite being underdogs against a powerhouse team that had showed no mercy leading up to the big day. 

If matches were won on paper, Cajon had the edge.

The top-seeded playoff team and San Andreas League champions, Cajon came into the match with 12 consecutive wins.  To give you an idea of how good the Cajon Cowboys are, during their playoff run they never allowed a goal: The Cowboys beat Bolsa Grande 4-0, Monrovia 4-0, Perris 3-0 and Granite Hills 2-0.

But the biggest win was not to be.

Following the Lakeside victory Saturday, Lancers head coach Colin Gilliland was elated with his team's success. 

"This is something that at the beginning of the year was a goal and in the middle of the year we didn't know if we'd get there," he said.

Gilliland has been with the program since the school opened in Lake Elsinore seven years ago.

"We peaked at the right time," he said.  "We knew that we matched up well -- we knew that we would have a good chance and so this feels great, this feels fantastic.

"We've had teams with better records over the course of our program’s history," Gilliland continued.  "We've had no team with more talent, but we struggled to put it together and this just shows that year after year after year we built a program."

Three of Gilliland’s JV boys were able to play in Saturday's match, attesting to the group's coaching efforts and goals.

Referring to the contributions of Ricky Ruiz in having a part in each of Lakeside’s three goals, Gilliland said last summer Ruiz was the Golden Boot winner and the Golden Ball winner for being the MVP and top scorer at the Club National Championships tournament. 

"The kid is phenomenal talent," Gilliland said.

The coach also pointed out a special Lancer who was not at Saturday’s game. Referring to Lakeside's former principal Jason Moscowitz, Gilliland said, "At the start of the season last year our principal came down and said to us the first or second game of the year, 'You guys are going to be the guys ... I'm tired of going to all the principals' meetings and having another principal show me their CIF ring.  You guys are going to be the guys that bring me my ring.'"

After the team found out about the , two of Lakeside’s team captains -- Ivan Hernandez and Sergio Gonzalez – wanted to bring the CIF Championship ring home for their beloved former principal.

Leading away from the halftime huddle, the Lancers shouted Moscowitz's name and played to win.  Gilliland said Moscowitz's belief in their abilities was certainly a motivating factor in their success.