The San Benito Haybalers dropped their first game of the early
season when they lost to Pioneer 75-62 Thursday at the 25th Annual
Aptos Seascape Classic.
Staff Reports
APTOS
The San Benito Haybalers dropped their first game of the early season when they lost to Pioneer 75-62 Thursday at the 25th Annual Aptos Seascape Classic.
Kevin Burley led the ‘Balers with 21 points on seven field goals Thursday, and Brian Haggett added 13 while Tyler Ruiz provided 10.
With the loss, San Benito (1-1) will play the winner of Monte Vista Christian-Aptos today at 5 p.m. in Aptos. Another loss will eliminate the ‘Balers from the tournament, while a win will push them toward playing on Saturday.
Coach John Becerra said of Thursday’s game that San Benito would continuously fall behind only to mount a comeback later in the contest.
“They would jump on us immediately and then we’d make a comeback,” he said. “They’d jump out to 12, we’d come back, we’d make some bad passes, and they’d jump out again. But everyone played hard and that’s what we expect.”
Becerra said the ‘Balers came within five points in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t complete the comeback against Pioneer.
“Both teams were very physical,” Becerra added. “It was very aggressive game throughout.”
Although no scores were provided, Gilroy defeated Gunn Thursday and Watsonville beat San Lorenzo Valley at the Seascape tournament.
Team 1 2 3 4 F
SB 12 19 15 16 62
Pioneer 18 19 22 16 75
SB – Bueno 2 1 0 7, Haggett 4 0 5 13, DeMateo 0 1 0 3, Taylor 0 0 1 1, Burley 7 0 7 21, Zanella 2 0 3 7, Ruiz 3 0 4 10.
Girls Soccer
Anzar 0, Pajaro Valley 2
San Juan Bautista – The Anzar Hawks lost 2-0 to Pajaro Valley Thursday despite outshooting the visiting team by a 3-to-1 margin.
It was Anzar’s (1-2-0) first non-tournament game of the season, after they fell to Harbor 3-0 and defeated North Monterey County 2-1 in the Watsonville Tournament last week.
But the story Thursday may have been surrounding the poor officiating, as the Hawks had difficulty getting to the ball without receiving an elbow, coach Deric McLean said.
After losing three players to injury last week, McLean was discouraged to witness the heavy physical contact once again.
“I actually suggested to our AD that we forfeit and walk off the field because I was so worried about someone getting hurt,” McLean said. “Soccer is a contact sport, but since I am unwilling to tell my girls to play dirty, I instead reminded them that the result didn’t matter – to have a good time, and above all, not to get hurt.”
The Hawks were able to pinpoint their weaknesses, most notably poor finishing, through Thursday’s loss.
The Hawks will look to rebound Tuesday when they’ll host Soledad in San Juan Bautista.
