Top Row: Vince Releford, James Roberts, Craig Enge, Matt Duran, Jeff Tensley, Chris Billingsley, Mark Delmarter, Coach Carlos Sardo’
Middle Row: Jarrett Jamieson, Edwin Smith, Gordon Bigler, Francis Gangle, Brian Enge, Manuel Gutierrez, Troy Lynch, Brian Hall
Bottom Row: Shawn Rink, Ivan Labra, Jeff Vaughn, Sean Redmond, Richard Chavez, Saul Zelaya, Matt Fuentes
The 1987 West High School boys soccer team overcame a heartbreaking near-miss the previous year to claim the Valley Championship in a storybook fashion, claiming an undefeated record and forging what former (three year) captain Brian Enge describes as a deep brotherhood among true soccer players.
After capturing back-to-back South Yosemite League (SYL) titles, the 1986 squad appeared poised for Valley glory but faltered in the final stages. “It was as if fate stepped in and said, ‘Not yet, I have something better in store for you'” Brian Enge recalled of the pivotal moment that paved the way for the 1987 team. “For a specially bonded group, a true TEAM with a cohesive spirit and a love of soccer, [it was] the team of 1987.”
The 1987 Vikings were united by shared histories on local youth fields, with families like Delmarter, Tensley, Lynch, Enge, and Vaughan forming the core of the community’s soccer scene. Scarred by the 1986 defeat, the players were “determined not to replicate those final mistakes,” Brian said.
Under coach Carlos Sardo’, who often began sessions with a simple directive—”get on your running shoes” and led with quiet belief rather than constant commands, the team built its own culture. “He believed in us, always,” Captain Enge noted.
Bonded through grueling two-mile runs, fierce rivalries with East High and Bakersfield High, and foggy drives to North High where visibility barely exceeded the goals scored, the squad featured contributions from every class. Representing diverse hair colors, skin tones, and four native languages, they embraced nicknames like Nasty, Shredder, Baby New Year, and Goalie Conquistador.
A loyal group of parents provided steadfast support, often as the team’s only fans. Gritty seniors, many getting their start in soccer on an unfunded JV squad, guided the group, bolstered by a formidable back line that conceded single-digit goals all season. Every defender in that backfield unit, advanced to play college big time college soccer. Overall, more than 50% of the team pursued collegiate play, with some earning captaincies and all-league honors, a ratio Enge believes rivals any in West High history across sports.
What truly set the 1987 team apart, Enge emphasized, was their identity: “This was the first West High team that was made up of true soccer players. We identified as soccer players first and athletes second.” Unlike the prior year, they lived for the game, harbored higher-level aspirations, and adopted a chant drawn from the one film that they could find about soccer: ‘Victoire’, “which we badly mispronounced”, according to Captain Enge.
Fate’s hand seemed evident in the championship’s dramatic conclusion. Vince Releford, a silky-smooth forward with an elusive style and sniper’s instinct since childhood, had seen his game diminished by injury. Welcomed back in a ceremonial role, he defied expectations. When the ball fell to him just inside the box in the decisive moment, his touch—now “clunkier smooth”—retained its calm precision, delivering the winning goal.
“I still get goose bumps and tears every time I watch that clip,” Brian Enge said of the first West High Valley Championship, a comeback tale of glory, brotherhood, and enduring memory. “Yes, fate was with the team of 1987.”
The team dedicated their achievement to teammates Manuel Gutierrez and Saul Zelaya, lost too soon.
“VICTOIRE!!!!!”
