The Valencia boys’ soccer team achieved a significant milestone on January 8, 2026, by defeating the Canyon Cowboys 2-0 at home. This victory marks the first time this season that Valencia has recorded a winning record in both overall and league play, improving their standings to 5-4-2 overall and 3-2 in league competition.
Valencia head coach Jose Villafan expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance. “It’s always a really good battle with Canyon,” he said. “And obviously getting a 2-0 win is really good. To start off the league season with a win is good for morale and good for the team. So, really happy for the boys.”
The match was crucial for the Vikings, who faced Canyon with a record of 2-11-1 and 0-5 in league play. After a week of inactivity, Villafan noted some early-game rust among his players, particularly in their ability to capitalize on scoring opportunities. In the first half, Valencia’s Logan Norsworthy came close to scoring when he hit the crossbar with a long shot in the 35th minute.
Just a minute later, Norsworthy found success as he scored Valencia’s first goal, assisted by Omid Gholamali, who delivered a crosskick from 20 yards out. Villafan commented on the team’s overall performance, stating, “We created a lot of opportunities that the score probably should have been a lot more than what we scored. But at the end of the day, once they’re creating the opportunities, we’re finding out we just got to put (one in the back of) the net consistently.”
The Vikings maintained their momentum into the second half, where they scored again in the 12th minute. Ciro Karapetyan secured the victory with a direct shot, finalizing the score at 2-0. Villafan expressed pride in his team for their collaborative effort and motivation, especially after missed opportunities can often lead to discouragement.
“We’ve been working a lot playing in spaces, finding the open man, finding those layoffs. A buildup goal all the way from the back is really amazing,” he stated. With this win, Villafan is optimistic about the remainder of the season, particularly after facing early setbacks against Saugus and Hart.
Valencia will next face Golden Valley on Tuesday at home, with kick-off set for 17:00. Villafan emphasized the challenge ahead, noting, “Golden Valley is going to be a tough game for us because we play a similar style to them. This is going to be who wants it more, but I’m really glad to be above .500 overall and league as well. So, we just got to continue to do the right things that we’ve been doing and just build on this.”
On the other side, Canyon’s defeat leaves them at the bottom of the Foothill League standings, now with a league record of 0-5. The Cowboys will attempt to recover from this setback when they travel to face Castaic on Tuesday, also with a kick-off at 17:00.
In other Foothill League action on Thursday, the boys’ soccer results included:
– Saugus 2, Golden Valley 0: The Centurions maintained their unbeaten streak, improving to 8-2-1 overall and 6-0 in league play.
– Hart 5, Castaic 0: Hart Hawks secured a strong 5-0 home victory, bringing their record to 5-2-1 overall and 2-1 in league play.
The girls’ soccer matches featured Valencia defeating Canyon 2-0, with the Lady Vikings improving to 2-5-2 overall and 2-2-1 in league play.
As the season progresses, both Valencia teams will look to build on their recent successes and continue their pursuit of league contention.
