Senior reserve forward Ali Sadri — in the game only because of injuries to starting midfielders Paul Zubatov (concussion late in the first half) and Kjell Wolker (dislocated shoulder in the 50th minute), as well as a yellow-card assessed to a teammate — broke a scoreless tie by scoring from 10 yards out off a scramble that followed Jack Gorab’s corner kick in the 66th minute.
CdM senior forward Reed Williams added an insurance tally in the 77th minute, finding the upper right corner while driving from the left wing for his 29th goal of the season.
Williams, who had two dangerous scoring chances earlier in the second half, including a header in front that glanced off the crossbar and over the cage in the 60th minute, took a moment to savor his capping goal. He executed an atypical post-goal celebration by running away from teammates who chased him, before he fell to the turf near the goal, triggering a brief dog pile.
Williams and Sadri were the first two Sea Kings to hug after the final seconds ticked off the clock, and were eventually the epicenter of a wild celebration that included about 200 students and fans storming the field from the home stands.
“As soon as it went in, I went ‘Wow, this is a dream come true coming right now,’ ” said Sadri, who was inserted about nine minutes before his goal, after senior defender Alex Mainthow exited with a yellow card he picked up with a hard tackle.
“Ever since my freshman year, when I found out what CIF was, I was like ‘Oh my gosh, winning it my senior year and scoring the winning goal would be my dream,’ ” Sadri said. “Now, to go out like this ... words can’t describe.”
Williams, bound for UCLA, figures to have more work ahead in the CIF State playoffs, for which pairings are announced Sunday.
But after Friday’s win, he was completely in the moment.
