Although it limited El Camino to just three shots on net, the
San Benito girls soccer team could not prevent the South San
Francisco high school from scoring two goals on Wednesday, as the
two teams finished in a 2-all tie in the third and final game of
the Burlingame Tournament.
BURLINGAME
Despite leading by two goals early and limiting El Camino to just three shots on net, the San Benito girls soccer team could not prevent the South San Francisco high school from scoring two second-half goals on Wednesday, as the two teams finished in a 2-all tie in the third and final game of the Burlingame Tournament.
Although the come-from-behind effort by El Camino left a bit of a sour taste for San Benito — it led 2-0 at halftime, after all — the tie at least ensured the Balers first place in the round-robin tournament, as they finished with a 2-0-1 record.
“I would have preferred 0-0,” San Benito head coach Ben Alvarez said. “Allowing two goals, it kind of took that away from me.
“But our kids played good soccer through the whole tournament. You’ve got to hand it to the other team, though. They never stopped fighting and it paid off.”
El Camino’s goal in the 38th minute also snapped San Benito’s shutout streak. It was the first goal allowed by the Balers this season, ending a scoreless streak that spanned nearly eight complete games and roughly 578 minutes of soccer.
And after it ended San Benito’s streak early in the second half, El Camino scored again approximately 10 minutes later on a long-ball pass that got past the Baler defense and knotted the game at 2-all.
“We dominated but we had some miscommunications,” Alvarez said.
Although it limited El Camino to just three shots on net, San Benito took 16 shots of its own, and pocketed two scores in the first half as a result.
On an assist from the left side by Kelly Gottron, center midfielder Hannah Cobb dribbled around three defenders before delivering a straightaway shot from the 18.
“It was a rocket and the goalie had no chance,” Alvarez said of Cobb’s goal in the 13th minute.
San Benito tacked on a second score in the 30th minute when forward Karly Leon received a pass near midfield from keeper Marissa Espino, then sprinted the rest of the way before staking the Balers to a two-goal lead.
“She was way fast for their defense,” Alvarez said.
The head coach added that El Camino’s defense did play the outside very well, drawing San Benito offsides countless times and preventing the Balers from adding to their lead.
Meanwhile, El Camino deposited two goals of its own in the second half, erasing San Benito’s cushion in 13 minutes.
“Three shots, two goals. Not bad,” Alvarez said.
The Balers are now 4-0-4 on the season, and are now off for the holidays.
San Benito won’t return to the pitch until Jan. 10, when it will open league play at North Salinas. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 F
SANB 2 0 2
ELCM 0 2 2
