Berger was awarded a free kick in the 17th minute, but as the fourth-seeded Bears were getting in position to defend it, one of them fouled Berger's teammate Pavle Atanackovic, who remained on the ground for a few seconds. After a brief break in the action, in which the referee checked on Atanackovic, Berger noticed the Bears hadn't yet formed a defensive wall and their goalkeeper Brandon Gettman was out of position.
Berger subtly got the OK from the official to take his shot and curved it inside the far post for a 1-0 lead before the stunned Bears (19-6-1) could react.
"It was brilliant," Crescenta Valley Coach Grant Clark said of Berger's quick wits. "For a high school player to be that aware of what was going on around him and to be able to think that far ahead and take that shot, it was really great thinking on Alex's part. He caught everybody [off guard], including our guys. Nobody was ready for that."
Crescenta Valley, the No. 5 seed, had chances to build on its lead soon after Berger's tally, but a brief run of unconscious play from Gettman, who stopped four shots in succession, all from inside the 10-yard line, kept the score where it was.
"It was difficult [to score]," Berger said. "We probably had like four point-blank shots on goal and the keeper just came up big for the other team. There was always somebody standing in the way or something, but if we had finished those, I think it would have been an easier game."
In a physical second half, the Falcons had the uphill task of playing into the wind, which made scoring a near impossible task, and Berger's first-half goal all the more valuable.
