The top 10 high school games from the 2011-12 season were selected by the sports writers of the Glendale News-Press.
1 Crescenta Valley High boys' soccer defeats Salesian in overtime, 3-2, Feb. 23
The Falcons' thrill ride to their first-ever CIF Southern Section division title contained no shortage of cliffhangers, but none so hair-raising as the quarterfinals of the Division IV playoffs.
After being shut out in the first half, Salesian scored two unanswered second-half goals to take a 2-1 lead with six minutes left in regulation. A lengthy chunk of stoppage time extended Crescenta Valley's hopes of rallying, but thing still looked grim for the Falcons when 12 minutes went by without the tying goal.
Falcons Coach Grant Clark summoned goalkeeper Nick Ruiz to move up and play the field in a last-ditch effort to score the equalizer, a gambit that worked to perfection a few moments later when Ruiz controlled a deflected ball off a throw-in and buried a goal from 15 yards out to force overtime.