Ganesha loses to Dunn’s worldly lineup in Division 6 boys soccer final - The San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Ganesha loses to Dunn’s worldly lineup in Division 6 boys soccer final - The San Gabriel Valley Tribune

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• Guillermo Angulo #16 of Ganesha covers his face as Dunn celebrates after defeating Ganesha 4-1 during a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Cameron Hao #23 of Dunn celebrates after defeating Ganesha 4-1 during a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Ulyses Perez #5 of Ganesha slides for the ball against Rene Pacheco #7 of Dunn in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Mikey Uribe #14 of Dunn goes up for the header against Ganesha in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Goalie Walker Blake #31 of Dunn blocks a shot by Ganesha in the second half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Joshua Avina #9 of Ganesha goes up for the header against Dunn in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Rene Pacheco #7 of Dunn reacts after scoring against Ganesha in the second half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Brandon Donis #10 of Ganesha wipes his face as Dunn celebrates after defeating Ganesha 4-1 during a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Goalie Ryan Molina #0 of Ganesha takes a moment prior to the start of the second half against Dunn during a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Guillermo Angulo #16 of Ganesha reacts after missing a shot against Dunn in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Guillermo Angulo #16 of Ganesha goes up for the header against Oskar Wollweber #6 of Dunn in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Alpha Sowe #10 of Dunn celebrates after defeating Ganesha 4-1 during a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Rene Pacheco #7 of Dunn celebrates with teammate Brima Kamara #13 after scoring as Diego Matamores #8 of Ganesha walks toward his bench in the second half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Francisco Romero #2 of Ganesha goes up for the header against Dunn in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Rene Pacheco (not pictured) of Dunn scores past goalie Ryan Molina #0 of Ganesha in the second half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Christian Jimenez #19 of Dunn goes up for the header against Ganesha in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Alpha Sowe #10 of Dunn with the header against Joshua Avina #9 of Ganesha in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Ulyses Perez #5 of Ganesha fights foe the ball against Abdul Kadir #8 of Dunn in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Francisco Romero #2 of Ganesha goes up for the header against Dunn in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Joshua Avina #9 of Ganesha goes up for the header against Dunn in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Ulyses Perez #5 of Ganesha controls the ball against Dunn in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Dunn celebrates after defeating Ganesha 4-1 during a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Christian Jimenez #19 of Dunn goes up for the header against Ganesha in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Abdul Kadir #8 of Dunn controls the ball against Ganesha in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Rene Pacheco #7 of Dunn celebrates after scoring against Ganesha in the second half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Brima Kamara #13 of Dunn controls the ball against Ulyses Perez #5 of Ganesha in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Mikey Uribe #14 of Dunn controls the ball against Ganesha in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Goalie Walker Blake #31 of Dunn blocks a shot by Ganesha in the second half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Goalie Walker Blake #31 of Dunn blocks a shot by Ganesha in the second half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Ganesha reacts after scoring against Dunn in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Brima Kamara #13 of Dunn controls the ball past Francisco Romero #2 of Ganesha in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Brima Kamara #13 of Dunn controls the ball against Ulyses Perez #5 of Ganesha in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• Ulyses Perez #5 of Ganesha fights for the ball against Abdul Kadir #8 of Dunn in the first half of a Division 6 prep championship soccer match at Ganesha High School on Friday, February 28, 2020. Dunn won 4-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

POMONA — It felt like it was Ganesha against the world in Friday’s CIF Southern Section Division 6 boys soccer championship, and in some ways, it was.

Ganesha held its own for a half against visiting Los Olivos Dunn, a unique boys private school that features players from all over the world, including Sierra Leone, Germany, China and Ghana.

But it wasn’t just the international flavor of the team from Santa Barbara County; it was talented as well. Dunn’s ability to own the midfield and use its speed eventually wore down the Giants.

Dunn came away with a 4-1 victory as it scored two goals early in the second half to turn a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 lead, and the Giants never recovered.

Ganesha coach Damian Galvan after 4-1 loss to Dunn in the D6 boys title game pic.twitter.com/rVaY6R6fW4

— Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) February 29, 2020

Dunn, surprisingly just a fourth seed, improved its record to a perfect 20-0 by beating second-seed Ganesha (23-2-1). Dunn had knocked off top-seed Brentwood 2-0 in the semifinals and the way it played, it was certainly deserving of its first title since 2015.

“We gave it our best, this is a really good team we played today,” Ganesha coach Damian Galvan said. “I thought at one point it was 1-1 and a fifty-fifty game that could have gone either way, but that’s the sport of soccer. You have to capitalize on your opportunities.”

Brima Kamara, from Sierra Leone, scores twice in Dunn’s 4-1 win over Ganesha and was fun to talk too pic.twitter.com/jH3PAeGuUL

— Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) February 29, 2020

Dunn forward Brima Kamara, a senior from Sierra Leone, gave the Giants fits with his speed and scored two goals, and Rene Pacheco also scored twice for the Earwigs.

“I just felt that their middle was really good,” Galvan said. “They were beating us in the middle and giving us problems and (Kamara) was crafty with some speed and he was tough for us.”

Ganesha, which hadn’t surrendered a goal in the playoffs, controlled most of the possession and pace early on, but Dunn took the lead on a cross that Kamara headed home for a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.

The Giants answered back a short time later as Joshua Avina emerged from a crowd of players in the middle of the penalty area and finished to tie the score 1-1 in the 13th minute, and the score remained that way the rest of the half.

But Pacheco scored back-to-back goals, in the 43rd and 45th minutes, and Dunn just kept coming, getting the final goal from Kamara with a couple minutes left to seal it.

“We did good. I believe the communication and the work-rate with our team was fantastic,” Kamara said. “Everybody gave their best and put it all the effort.”

Ganesha will find out on Sunday if it will continue in the regional playoffs next week.

Never seen anything like this, look at all the country’s Dunn represents as players walk through handshakes with their homeland flags pic.twitter.com/yrmvsM2FJN

— Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) February 29, 2020

2020-02-29 07:23:50Z
https://www.sgvtribune.com/2020/02/28/the-international-flavor-of-dunn-to-much-for-ganesha-in-division-6-boys-soccer-final/

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