There was a football festival Sunday afternoon at Pioneer Valley High School in Santa Maria — the second annual Boys Scouts of America (BSA) and Chivas USA Soccer Exhibition, a fundraising event for the Los Padres Council of the BSA.

This was football as it is known throughout most of the world — a game most Americans call soccer.

It was a triple-header of All-Star football action with the Central Coast’s finest players squaring off against the best players from Southern California and Guadalajara, Mexico.

The first game of the day featured the Chivas USA Under-19 team against the Santa Maria All-Stars Under-19 squad. Chivas posted a 2-1 victory.

They were followed by an Under-12 matchup between the Santa Maria All-Stars and the Santa Maria/Mexico All-Stars. Santa Maria took the match 1-0.

The finale was a match between the Ex-Chivas de Guadalajara team and Central Coast Soccer League All-Stars with players between the ages of 27 and 61. Ex-Chivas de Guadalajara won this one 2-0.

The crowd of nearly 2,000 people was treated to three evenly-matched games of non-stop action.

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In the opener, Chivas’ Polo Morales scored in the 21st minute of the first half off an assist from Omar Becerra.

Santa Maria tied the game at 1-1 about four minutes later on a goal by Andy Contreras.

Chivas’ Jesse Paredes scored the game-winner 21-minutes into the second half off a Morales assist.

While there wasn’t a lot of scoring, there was a lot of action.

Both teams pressed the attack throughout.

Santa Maria repeatedly worked the ball downfield and took a number of shots on goalkeeper Juan Quirroz but could only break through for the one score.

Santa Maria’s keepers - Frankie Ortiz in the first half and Francisco Ayala in the second - were also up to the challenge, turning aside numerous Chivas attacks to keep the game close.

“We had about 50 guys try out for the team from everywhere on the Central Coast,” said Santa Maria head coach Al Garcia. “We had young men from Santa Maria High School, Righetti, Pioneer Valley, Arroyo Grande, Cabrillo and Santa Ynez. We even had a couple from Hancock College who are still under 19. We cut that down to 20 and today I’m playing everybody who made the squad.”

“Our team is made up mostly of young men who will be seniors in high school in the Los Angeles area next year. We have a couple who just graduated but are still under 19,” said Chivas head coach Sacha Van Der Most. “We’re a Professional Developmental League team. We’re directly related to the Major League Soccer player development for the MLS Chivas team.”

“I think our guys played a great game,” said Garcia. “They should feel pretty good about themselves. We picked the top 20 from the 50 that tried out. Then we had just a couple weeks to practice. They played Chivas dead-even. The first 25 minutes, we were excellent. You have to remember, Chivas has thousands of young men try out for the team and they play together all year.”

“The Santa Maria team definitely has good players,” said Van Der Most. “They gave us a really good game. The goalies on both teams made it a good game. They kept it close, kept both teams in it. We’ve had a great time in Santa Maria. It’s helping us get the word out about Chivas USA. If anyone is going to be in the Los Angeles area, they should take the time to go to a Chivas game.”

In the second game, Francisco Ayala scored on a breakaway midway through the 30-minute under-12 game. That was the only scoring and gave Santa Maria the 1-0 victory over Santa Maria/Mexico.

The final game of the day matched an All-Star squad from the Central Coast Soccer League and retired players from the first division of the Mexican professional soccer league. This shaped up to be the day’s only mismatch with Santa Maria amateurs going up against retired professionals. But the Santa Maria squad showed its grit and determination but playing the former pros fairly close to dead-even.

The fans’ favorite was 61-year old Javier De Horta from the Santa Maria side. He was the oldest player on the field. The youngest was 27.

This match was scoreless through the first half.

Both teams had a half-dozen good scoring opportunities but the goalkeepers - Martin “El Pulpo” Zuniga for Chivas and Jeff Fuhring for Santa Maria - kept the opposing team off the scoreboard.

Chivas broke through in the 16th minute of the second half when Toki Castaneda kicked one in for the game’s first score.

Emilio Mora closed out the scoring 10-minutes later with a shot from about 20 yards out to make it 2-0 Chivas.

“It was a fun day,” said Garcia, who coached both Santa Maria adult All-Star teams. “I’m ready to do it again next year.”

Sports Editor Elliott Stern can be reached at 739-2235 or by e-mail to elliottstern@santamariatimes.com.

July 28, 2008