SARATOGA -- West Valley men's soccer played one of its top defensive matches of the year and scored in poetic fashion to take down their bitter rivals, the De Anza College Mountain Lions,   1-0, in the second round of the NorCal Regional.

When these two played just 15 days prior, No. 15 West Valley's (10-3-6, 8-2-3 Coast-South) lone goal came off a terrific direct-kick set piece from wingback Edan Bavelock in the 41^st minute. But in that one, the No. 19 Lions (12-5-4, 7-3-3 Coast-South) scored twice in the matches' final 13 minutes to put the Vikings on ice.

Seemingly the healthiest and most complete the team has been this year, West Valley opened its rivalry rematch with one of its strongest lineups. Bavelock and Pavan Nawbatt started as the wingbacks with Oscar Salcedo and Devin Rosas in the middle. Brian Diaz, Johan Granados and Erick Villasenor held down the midfield. Gio Perez started up top with Sebastian Jaral and Omar Rodriguez flanking him.

One noticeable difference was starting Connor Faries in goal instead of Romello Fulcher. Both have been stellar with their numbers called, with near-identical statistics. Fulcher posted an 0.73 goals-against average on .840 save-percentage in the regular season, while Faries fared slightly better with 0.69 GAA on an .857 clip.

The move may have been at least in part to the way De Anza closed the last match against the Vikings, scoring two goals late. But Faries, the veteran who was with the program in 2021 and 2022 before pursuing a four-year degree and returning to Saratoga for his final year of eligibility, was stellar. He finished with a season-high (and a career-high matching) five saves and his first clean sheet of the season.

Symmetry was real in the first half of the match. The teams were both silent offensively thanks to stifling defense until West Valley drew a penalty inside the 18-yard box, and wingback Pavan Nawbatt slotted a penalty kick home to give the Vikings the lead.

Just like the first time the two teams played, a wingback scored the teams' first goal. Bavelock's was a more difficult angle on a free kick, while Nawbatt's was one-on-one. But both were set pieces. And both were scored in the 41^st minute.

However, the rest of the season-defining match more mirrored the match that defined West Valley's regular season. When West Valley took on No. 3 Evergreen Valley in late October, both Faries and midfielder Brian Diaz drew red cards, forcing the Vikings to play two men down in the upset victory.

So when Bavelock drew a red card in the 58^th minute, West Valley was prepared to finish the match playing a man down. The defense, one of the tops in the conference all season long, was once again stellar against a tremendous De Anza attack.

In the end, there was no late-match scoring spree for heartbreak. There were no headers near goal that barely stayed on the wrong side of the scoring plane, like there were in stoppage time when these teams last played.

The Vikings fought to one of their hardest-fought victories of the season when they needed it most. Now, Gaspar Silveira's squad is back in the third round of the NorCal regional for the first time since 2023, when the Vikings took down Folsom Lake, 1-0.

Next up comes the toughest task of the season -- the No. 6 Hartnell Panthers. West Valley has just one win over Hartnell since 2019 and is undefeated since falling on the road to Skyline on October 24^th.

These two teams played on October 21^st, with Hartnell eking out a 1-0 victory. West Valley generated chances throughout the contest but was unable to push through an equalizer in one of just two losses on its home turf.

West Valley will have to travel to Hartnell in the third round of the NorCal Regional on Tuesday, with kick-off set for 11:00 AM.