Dons going to CCS

Three years ago, Aragon High senior Dilian Donev and coach Forest Brazil vividly remember the pain and emptiness they felt after the Dons lost a winner-take-all game for the Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division boys' soccer championship. Afterward, Donev made a promise that he would lead his team to a title. On Wednesday, the dynamic forward made good on his word. Donev scored three goals and assisted on another in a 4-0 wipeout of Westmoor at Gellert Park in Daly City. Aragon (10-2-2 PAL Ocean) earned the division's only automatic berth into the Central Coast Section playoffs. The Dons will be appearing in the postseason for the first time since 1998. Oddly enough, three years ago it was Aragon that lost 4-0 to Terra Nova for the Ocean title. "I'm speechless," said Donev, who scored his 23rd, 24th and 25th goals of the season. "My freshman year we were so close and I wanted to make sure Aragon would win a soccer championship. That loss to Terra Nova brought me down a lot, but I've been working hard ever since to get back to this point." It shows. Even on a small field such as the one at Gellert Park, Donev was simply too much for Westmoor (9-3-2 in league) to handle. The Rams simply gave Donev too much space to roam, and he made them pay in the form of a hat trick. Aragon had several quality chances to score before finally breaking through moments before the first-half whistle. Victor Jimenez was running down the right flank with Donev to his immediate left about 10 yards away. Jimenez then executed a perfect square pass that hit Donev in-stride inside the 18-yard box, and the fleet-footed playmaker did the rest, slotting a shot to the lower left corner for a 1-0 Aragon lead. Both teams had great chances to score on multiple occasions in the first half, and the Dons could've easily led 3-0 going into halftime had it not been for Westmoor goalkeeper Manuel Estrada, who made a couple of tremendous diving saves. The Rams' inability to score in the opening 40 minutes cost them because whereas they were pretty much shut down in the second half, the Dons were simply warming up. In the 59th minute, Will Chidayuski connected with an unmarked Donev down the right flank. The only thing more troubling for an opponent than a hustling Donev is an unmarked Donev. And once again, Donev went opposite post to the lower corner that Estrada had little chance of stopping. Aragon and Westmoor finished in a 0-0 tie in their first meeting, but it was apparent the Dons were getting stronger in the rematch and the Rams were fading. "I think that second goal broke them," Brazil said. "They gave him (Donev) some space I didn't think they would." Donev had a feeling he would have a strong game. Westmoor coach Omar Rashid, who once again did another solid job in his second year back in his second stint at the Daly City school, scouted Aragon in its 3-2 win over South San Francisco on Monday. Rashid watched as the Warriors once again hammered Donev and surrounded him with a number of players wherever he went. But that opened things up for Donev's teammates to do some damage, which they did to the tune of three goals. So it was obvious Rashid had a dilemma to either focus most of his defense on Donev or simply man-mark him with one player and help out when necessary. "I didn't think he (Rashid) wanted to make the same mistake South City did," Donev said. "But that also freed me up to make some plays." Did it ever. Donev completed his hat trick in the 65th minute on a counterattack. Once again streaking down the right flank, Donev had a teammate to his right with three Westmoor defenders back. But Donev quickly broke to the center of the 18-yard box, blowing by one Westmoor player while another was too late in helping. Donev then hit a chip shot that deflected off the hands of Estrada and into the net for a commanding 3-0 advantage. Aragon capped the game's scoring just two minutes later, as Donev threaded a pass to Jimenez from the left wing. Jimenez, who was unmarked and stationed on the right side of the penalty area, could've one-timed the shot but instead settled the ball. He still had plenty of time to turn and unleash a shot to the lower left corner. On the play, the Rams actually sent two players once Donev touched the ball, one of the rare times they did it all game. Unfortunately, Donev made them pay for the extra attention. This was just one of those games where everything worked for Aragon and virtually nothing did for Westmoor. Had the teams tied and Half Moon Bay won, there would've been a three-way tie atop the Ocean standings. Instead, the Dons left no doubt they were the class of the Ocean this season. "I can't even think of something that sounds original, but I guess the best thing you can say is the senses are enhanced," Brazil said. "Everything is brighter and I'm sure anything you eat will taste better. These guys gave an effort that's more than anything I can ask in a lifetime." Aragon's backline of Walter Valverde, Cesar Gonzales, Bryan Kawamoto and Bryce Bolban had another strong performance. Time and again they blocked shots from inside the 18-yard box and cleared away dangerous Westmoor scoring opportunities -- no small feat on a field where any shot was basically a good one with an excellent chance of scoring. "Our defense doesn't get much credit, but they deserve applause for getting us in this situation," Brazil said. With the exception of a couple of fouls when the game was all but decided, players from both teams were on their best behavior, not wanting to commit a silly foul to put the opponent in a position to score. In the end, however, it was a red-hot Aragon team that cruised to the finish. A month into the league season, the Dons were in third place behind South San Francisco and Westmoor. But they played their best soccer down the stretch run, culminating with a flourish on Wednesday. "It's hard to describe what I'm feeling," Donev said. "We needed to win this championship because it meant so much to us." Said Brazil: "I'll never forget any of the faces of the guys on this team for as long as I live. This is something you'll never forget."