Valley View Having “Special” Season
A shutout, in and of itself, is special. A shutout streak? Heck, that’s nearly impossible to create, let alone maintain.
An eight-game shutout streak? Practically unheard of in the Inland Area.
Well, that’s just the kind of run Moreno Valley Valley View is on — eight consecutive games, zero goals allowed.
It started Dec. 3 with a scoreless draw against Upland in the quarterfinals of the Rancho Cucamonga Tournament. Continued with a 2-0 victory over playoff nemesis Claremont in the semifinals and a shootout victory over Riverside Poly in the title game, and includes three other non-league victories (Hemet West Valley, Temecula Valley, Vista Murrieta) and two Inland Valley League victories (road games at Moreno Valley and Riverside Arlington).
How have the Eagles (9-1-1) been able to maintain such success? Most of it has to do with the players on the field, but credit also should go the way of Coach John Kush, now in his sixth season at Valley View.
Kush guided the Eagles to a second consecutive Inland Valley League title last season, and an appearance in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 playoffs, where they lost 2-1 to eventual division champion Claremont in a game that saw Valley View goal called back by the referee.
“It’s on Youtube (here and here), if you haven’t seen it,” Kush says.
Last season now firmly in the rearview mirror, this year’s team is focused and fighting for everything, evidenced by a 3-0 victory over Arlington on Dec. 15. The Eagles scored their first goals on rebounds, before reigning Inland Area Player Of The Year Alex Turkson headed home the third and final goal in the late going.
So what does Kush think of the streak?
“Right now it feels a little special. The shutout streak is still alive,” Kush said. “I’ve never had this since I’ve been coaching, never had this. We’ve always been able to create some chances, and it’s hard to win here at Arlington. It’s hard to play on this field, and we got it done, clawing, scratching and we got that win.”
You’ve now outscored Arlington 6-0 in your last three meetings. Why are you so intent on pummeling your alma mater? (Kush is a 1996 graduate of Arlington.)
“Ha. I think the first half was kind of unlucky for Arlington. They controlled a lot of that first half. We hit a weird shot that hit off a post and we got there first and finished it. The second half we created things, and we just happened to hit the post and it came back to our guy who beat their guy, so I think he deserved that goal there. The third one… I think the rain helped us out. We were playing a little too slow in the first half and the rain sped tha game up. I think that when we play our best we’re faster than the other team.”
What’s different from last year to this year?
“I think the boys are hungry. Losing to Claremont in the second round, the way we lost to them on a goal that got called back that shouldn’t been called back… they are hungry. We have a core of seniors that came back and were hungry and were talking something special since last year, not just this year, since last year. So I think it’s that and we have a defensive mentality, and we all want to play defense all over the field, rather than it just be our backline and our goalkeeper.”
Obviously, the defensive side has picked up. What can you attribute this to?
“It (defense) has been a focus and it’s something I told the guys at the end of last year when we do our end-of-the-year report to the team, I’m saying ‘We need to be better defensively. We’re allowing — even if we win the games 3-1 — we shouldn’t have allowed a goal to certain teams. We were allowing that last year whereas this year we’re focused on keeping the shutout. And that’s how playoff games are. You have to be able to win 1-0.”
What can you say about beating Claremont 2-0 in the semifinals of the Rancho Cucamonga Tournament?
“Claremont — defending D2 CIF champions in our division — we played them this year, we beat them 2-nil. We controlled play as far as the field. They’re very dangerous as far as set plays and they’ve got a guy that can throw it into the middle, and that’s how they created chances against us in the Rancho Cucamonga Tournament was throw-ins, and I think they hit the bar once of a throw-in. We’re up 2-0 at the half and they hit the bar. If that goes in it might be a fight. They’re a good, hard, stuck-in, well-coached team but I think, talentwise, we’ve evened out a little bit.”
Offensively, what is this team doing to create a more consistent output?
“I think last year we were really good offensively. We’ve got a couple of really good, special players, and I think playing together we have four guys — two in the middle, two up top — that can interchange and combine at will when they decide to do it instead of dribbling. I think those special players create chances for us, and they’ve created chances for last year, this year, and now the defense has also stepped forward.”
What’s it going to take to get to the promised land this season?
“I think if we continue to work and continue to focus on defense as a team, other than just our backs and just our goalkeeper, I think we’re as talented as anyone in the division.”
And he’s right. The Eagles, ranked No. 1 in the most recent Inland Area Prep Soccer Top 10, are the team to beat.
That’s stating the obvious, I know. Unless you can name a forward pairing as explosive as Alex Turkson and Miguel Hernandez.
Oh wait. You cannot. Because there isn’t one. Not this year.
INLAND FIELDHOUSE 