West Valley dedicates field; Blanks Evergreen Valley, 4-0, in Coast-South showdown

SARATOGA, Calif. - In front of a capacity crowd on hand for the Dick Schwendinger Field dedication ceremony, the West Valley men's soccer team overwhelmed visiting Evergreen Valley 4-0 Saturday afternoon in Saratoga.

David Chavez opened the scoring in stoppage time at the end of the first half with a goal off assists from Pedro Silva and Rudy Castro. Pablo Ramirez gave WVC (6-2-1, 2-0 Coast-South) a 2-0 lead in the 63rd minute off a helper from Chavez. Castro finished the scoring with goals at 74' (Jose Valencia) and in extra time (Richie Licon). Viking GK Yannick Lamers kept the Hawks (2-6-2, 1-1) off the scoreboard to record his third shutout of the season. The win moved West Valley to the top spot in the Coast-South, a game up on Cabrillo and Skyline.

At halftime, legendary West Valley coach and Bay Area soccer icon Dick Schwendinger was honored in a special Dick Schwendinger Field dedication ceremony. Coach Schwendinger was a founding West Valley faculty member in 1964 and he set up and coached the Viking men's side for 22 years before a ten-year stint at the helm of the San Jose St. men's soccer program.  He also coached West Valley's men's golf team, leading them to six conference championships.

Coach Schwendinger's vast soccer knowledge served him well as the first play-by-play announcer for the San Jose Earthquakes on radio and TV. He established, and still directs, a soccer camp in the Sierra that has hosted more than 60,000 resident campers from around the world.

(Courtesy Matt Folsom, West Valley Athletics)