How KC’s Guadalupe Centers Charter defied the odds to bring home a state soccer title
The Guadalupe Centers Charter School soccer team left Kansas City a couple days ago harboring high hopes but facing seemingly long odds.
The Aztecs turned those odds on their ear Saturday at the World Wide Technology Soccer Park, returning to KC as Missouri high school champions.
To understand this story, it helps to know a bit about Guadalupe Centers, an inner-city program where the student body is primarily Latino and 90 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Where soccer is a relatively new undertaking and no team had ever won a state championship in any sport.
Kids at Guadalupe hail from points around the globe. Coach Ricky Oliveras’ leads a small squad of players whose families emigrated to Kansas City from El Salvador, Honduras, even Africa.
Together, Olivares’ charges have proven to be very good at soccer. Last year, the Aztecs won a district championship before falling to Pembroke Hill in the sectional round. This year, featuring just three seniors, they made it to Class 2’s final four by beating the likes of Pembroke, St. Pius and St. Michael.
“This means the world, when you look at these boys and our school,” Olivares said on the bus ride home Saturday night. “It’s a reflection of their school, and its a reflection of the inner city. Of their community.”
Which brings us back to Fenton, the state championship match, and how Guadalupe beat a St. Louis soccer power like Priory, a private Catholic school for boys where tuition runs nearly $25,000 per year, 4-3 to lay hands on a very handsome trophy.
Guadalupe reached the state final beating Southern Boone 2-0 Friday. Sophomore Luckyboy Tarley, from Liberia, scored both goals in the shutout.
On Saturday against Priory, senior leader David Portillo was the catalyst, recording a hat trick — three goals. The Aztecs built a 3-0 lead, then withstood some tense moments as the Rebels tried desperately to claw their way back.
“The last 15 minutes, it was a heart attack waiting to happen,” Olivares said. “They were on top of us and we were doing all we could. ... The minutes on the clock seemed like hours.”
Eventually those minutes ticked away and Guadalupe’s Aztecs (22-2) could celebrate like proud champions. Tarley scored their third goal, Portillo their fourth, and freshman goalkeeper Henry Godinez earned Olivares’ praise, too, as did the rest of the team.
When it was over, the weight of their accomplishment began to sink in. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted his congratulations, and officers from the Kansas City Police Department awaited the Guadalupe team bus near the Truman Sports Complex to give the triumphant Aztecs a “Royals World Series” escort back to the school.
Bounding home down Interstate 70, Olivares and his players marveled at it all.
“When we show up, we look different than everyone else,” the coach said. “They have 30, 40 players, and we walk off the bus with 15. But sometimes size doesn’t count. It’s the heart of these boys.
“Like I told the boys, we deserved to be there. We worked just as hard as they did. Our boys wanted to win this for themselves, their school, their community.”
Mission accomplished.
“This means a lot to these boys,” Oliveras concluded. “It’s going to be a great memory for them.”
Class 3
Rockwood Summit 2, Platte County 1, 2OT: Platte County gave max effort Saturday in Fenton but came up short of the Class 3 title, losing a heartbreaker to Rockwood (29-0-1).
The Pirates (26-2) scored first on a goal from Chase Peterson, assisted by Grant Allen. But Rockwood equalized in the 77th minute, and after the score stood deadlocked through full time and one overtime, the Falcons got the go-ahead via Andrew Kogut at the 106th-minute mark.
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 8:03 PM.