Boys Soccer: Heritage beats Mountain View for 3A district title and a sweet treat

May 14-Moments after the Heritage boys soccer team secured a second straight district championship with a 3-0 win over Mountain View on Thursday, the Timberwolves went searching for the trophy.

The problem was that there isn't one this year.

Last year, when the upstart Heritage program surprised many by racing to the 3A West Central bi-district title, the Timberwolves hoisted the tournament trophy.

The West Central event is a longstanding tournament and for years it's been the path to state for teams from the 3A Greater St. Helens League.

But this year with the 3A GSHL guaranteed two berths to state, the Timberwolves played in a much smaller District 4 tournament that doesn't have a trophy.

So instead, the Timberwolves celebrated with a post-game feast of doughnuts.

"It feels great," senior Omar Ramirez said. "Two times in a row. Many people thought we could never do this because we came from a program not really known for soccer. But we've changed that."

Ramirez is the standout player on a team that doesn't want the focus to be on any one player, second-year coach Davis Delamarter said.

"Last year when I took over, I emphasized, as heavily as I could, the value of teamwork," Delamarter said. "The individual does not matter more than the team. ... And I think that culture has carried over from last year. And we're building to make it stronger and stronger."

The results showed Thursday as the Timberwolves got a quick strike to grab the lead against Mountain View.

Senior Aldo Herrera Malvaez took a corner kick from Alexys Valdez Malpica and blasted off the Mountain View goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead in the second minute.

"We came with the energy," Herrera said. "We knew what we had to do. We had to take care of business right away. We came with the energy. That's it. That's it."

Six minutes later, sophomore Julian Ciu punched in a cross from Seraphim Venger to put Heritage up 2-0. Ciu, who usually plays on the backline for the Timberwolves, later added another goal on a feed from Herrera.

"It felt amazing," Ciu said. "We've worked so hard this whole season. Our seniors helped us the whole way. Back-to-back district champs. It feels amazing."

Ciu getting a moment to shine is exactly what Delamarter has been preaching to his team.

"As you can see, Julian scored two goals for us," Delamarter said. "He's not a typical goal scorer for us. And look at the excitement from the guys. It's not 'poor me. I didn't score that goal.' It's 'Let's get Julian a hat trick' type mentality."

The victory improved Heritage's record to 16-0-2 on the season. The lone blemishes on their mark are a pair of draws with 4A playoff teams Kentridge and Camas.

Last year after winning the West Central title against tough teams on the road, Heritage was rewarded with the No. 2 seed in the 3A state playoffs and a playoff game at McKenzie Stadium.

That state experience ended with a gut-wrenching loss to Auburn Mountainview on penalty kicks in the round-of-16.

Even though they haven't faced many teams from outside of Southwest Washington, the Timberwolves believe they deserve another high seed this season.

"Oh yeah, 100 percent," Ramirez said. "I think we deserve it. We've worked hard all season, and every game shows why."

The WIAA seeding committee will announce state seeding and matchups on Sunday.

Heritage's next game is likely in the round-of-16 at state next Friday. If the Timberwolves earn a top-4 seed, they'll be playing again close to home to open state.

"I'd sure love that for our guys," Delamarter said. "But honestly I'm just proud of the guys. I think we've come a long ways, and I think we've shown that we can be very, very dangerous, if we play as a team. ... I think as a team and the type of players that we have, we can do some real damage.

"We've been eyeing postseason this whole year. That's always been the goal. You need to go through league, you need to go through every step. We've taken it as seriously as we can. And we're just so excited for what comes next. We're excited to play the best of Washington."

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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 7:05 AM.