The first game between San Benito and Christopher had fans on the edge of their seats. The second didn’t disappoint either.
After losing 12-11 in overtime the first time around, the Balers found redemption with a 7-4 win over the Cougars at Christopher Tuesday.
San Benito was led by senior Charlie Garcia, who scored five goals on eight shots in addition to six steals in the game. Normally a defensive guy, Garcia said he focused his energy on attacking the net as possible to ensure a Balers’ win.
“Today, I wasn’t as worried about defense as I was about offense,” he said. “I knew my guys could hold their own against Christopher, so I focused more on offense and got a few counter goals.”
Garcia wasted no time getting San Benito on the board, scoring just 45 seconds into the game. He put the bread in the basket again late in the first quarter with a shot that skipped across the water, just past Cougar goalie Ryan Weberg.
Garcia opened the second quarter with another goal to give the Balers a 3-0 lead. The Cougars answered less than a minute later when Gordy Papalias grabbed his own rebound and pushed it past Trevin Jones in net.
David Werolin scored the first of his two goals to the near corner and Garcia finished off the half on a breakaway goal to give San Benito a 5-1 lead at the half.
“I think that we played them the same way as last time, but the difference this time was that we maintained that intensity and drive through all four quarters,” Balers coach Brendan Sigourney said. “Last game we kind of let up in the second half. It’s nice to see them finish the game this time against a good team.”
Christopher clawed its way back in the second half, thanks to two stellar goals from Papalias. Both teams were locked in a defensive battle for most of the third until a shot from Papalias sailed over the hands of Jones. He scored again with just over a minute left in the quarter off an assist from Zach Gallardo. The Balers answered on their next possession with a goal from Garcia to the far corner.
On the opposite side of the pool, Weberg was fending off the Balers’ attack. The Cougar goalie blocked 15 of 22 shots in the game.
“Emotionally, I think we were still dealing with a devastating 9-8 loss to San Lorenzo Valley (on Oct. 21),” Christopher coach Paul Wells said. “Today the planets didn’t align. If it hadn’t been for goalie Ryan Weberg blocking 15 of 22 for a fantastic 68 percent, it could have been much worse.”
Christopher’s Max Deliz scored the final goal for his team early in the fourth to cut the Balers’ lead to 6-4. Werolin put the nail in the Cougars’ coffin, scoring with 1:10 left to play off an assist from August Spurzem.
Though the Cougars had trouble finding the back of the net, they didn’t make it easy on Jones. Christopher hammered the Baler netminder with 24 shots on goal and created opportunities for itself with 17 steals. Gallardo, the team’s leading scorer, was also limited in the game due as he nursed nine stitches on his elbow from an injury suffered against Stevenson on Oct. 22.
“At times the defensive coverage was brilliant, but really had no way to shut down Garcia from San Benito,” Wells said. “We simply didn’t give him the proper amount of attention—that was on me. Credit the San Benito defense for forcing poor shots from us—poor shot placement and selection. The good news is at least we were shooting—the guys never really gave up.”
San Benito will take on Palma at 4 p.m. Thursday. Christopher (6-9 overall, 5-5 in league) will close out the regular season at 4 p.m. Thursday against Everett Alvarez at home. Wells said he’s hoping to end on a high note before the team plays in the league tournament.
“It’s been a long season, a tough season and we’ve had some nasty losses. It’s a little bit demoralizing on everybody,” the Cougar coach said. “The tournament is a new season, so hope reigns eternal as they say.”
