The San Benito Lady Balers were within 40 minutes of posting
their first-ever postseason victory on Wednesday night in San Jose,
but couldn’t overcome host Leland’s two-goal second half and
narrowly lost to the Chargers 2-1.
SAN JOSE
With a back line anchored by senior Samantha Moreno, coupled with an impressive cutback loft-shot goal from Berniece Bribiesca, the San Benito Lady Balers appeared they may just rid their postseason demons once and for all on Wednesday night in San Jose.
For the first half, at least, San Benito was ahead — 40 minutes away from earning its first-ever playoff victory.
“I felt we were the better team entering this game, and we surprised them,” San Benito head coach Ben Alvarez said.
In playoff soccer, though, even tiny mistakes can prove costly.
Visiting No. 7 Leland in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, No. 10 San Benito pulled in front at the 11th minute when Daniela Ocampo’s through ball to the left side found Bribiesca for the game’s first goal. But a game of touch and control by Leland in the second half netted the Chargers two quick scores en route to a come-from-behind 2-1 victory — the two goals coming less than four minutes apart.
Believing they were controlling the game in the first half, despite the one-goal deficit at the break, the Chargers regrouped at halftime and remerged with a heightened sense of urgency.
“We were all going full throttle in the second half, and that’s what propelled it,” Leland head coach Jodi Washington said. “Just trying to keep that energy.”
Wednesday’s second-half onslaught advances the Chargers (12-8-1) to Saturday’s quarterfinal round, where they will square off against No. 2 Saint Francis (16-4-3) at Gunn High School in San Jose.
Despite being outshot by nearly a 2-to-1 ratio, though, the Lady Balers played inspired soccer in the waning minutes of regulation following an incident involving teammate Kaitlyn Fontaine.
With approximately 14 minutes left and the Lady Balers trailing 2-1, Fontaine went down with an apparent lower-leg injury, which stopped the game for roughly 45 minutes as an ambulance was called to the scene.
Fontaine’s status was unknown at press time, although she did leave the field on a stretcher and was said to have been taken to a nearby hospital.
When play finally resumed, referees put approximately 16 minutes on the clock and the Lady Balers developed a near-constant attack in Leland’s zone during the time remaining, nearly depositing the game-tying goal on two different occasions in stoppage time.
“I’m not gonna take anything away from the girls,” Alvarez said. “They fought until the end.”
Perhaps San Benito’s best chance came off a free kick from Moreno 35 yards out. The freebie offering landed deep inside Leland’s box where Karly Leon kicked it up into the air, then again by Daniela Ocampo, then a third time by Anissa Stanton, whose kick narrowly cleared the crossbar.
If ever so slightly, Leland managed to prevail — the final whistle resulting in few dry eyes on the San Benito sideline.
“We’re all crying because of our seniors,” junior mid Sara Yamasaki said. “We’re all emotional.
“We’re so proud of how we played. We don’t regret anything. We played our hearts out.”
The Lady Balers finish their season at 12-6-2, and will graduate six seniors, including Moreno, Jessica Castro, Jasmine Flores, Victoria Murray, Jocelyn Serrano and keeper Elizabeth Miller, who made 13 saves in Wednesday’s game.
Leland keeper Megan Panek made four saves, and nearly a fifth when Bribiesca lofted a shot top shelf in the 11th minute. After receiving the pass from Ocampo on the left side, Bribiesca made a quick cutback toward the center of the field before finding the back of the net for the game’s first goal.
“We took some chances early, and they capitalized on them,” Washington said.
The 1-0 lead held until halftime, as San Benito’s back line of Moreno, Nicole Yost, Marissa Adame and Fontaine prevented Leland’s attack early on. The Lady Balers even marked two Chargers, including Kaitlin Anzalone and Cristina Farrington, the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Senior of the Year.
“I felt that we took them out of their element,” Alvarez said.
Washington told her players at halftime to start taking deeper shots on net, and the advice paid off in the 53rd minute when Anzalone drilled a liner from 32 yards out, just slightly out of reach for the outstretched Miller.
Less than four minutes later, a free kick from the keeper Panek sailed past San Benito’s back line, creating a free-for-all between Miller and an oncoming Farrington. Miller won the track race, kicking the ball away from Leland’s star player.
However, the San Benito keeper was forced to come too far out of the net, and Leland’s Celeste Kaashoek was trailing the play and easily pocketed the go-ahead goal as a result.
“She did exactly what she’s supposed to do,” Alvarez said of Miller. “But that was a lucky bounce.”
Despite the all-of-a-sudden deficit, San Benito’s final 14 minutes of play allowed the Lady Balers to leave it all on the field.
“The last 14 minutes, we just backed up and went at it as hard as we could,” Yamasaki said. “It was full intensity — be the first to the ball and be on their back.”
TEAM 1 2 F
SANB 1 0 1
LLND 0 2 2
