After losing 3-0 to Carmel on Tuesday, the San Benito High boys
soccer team downed visiting King City 1-0 on Wednesday; the ‘Balers
will open the TCAL Thursday at Palma
HOLLISTER
It didn’t take very long for Ivan Martinez to make his presence felt.
It was 46 minutes, to be exact.
One day after falling to Carmel, the San Benito High boys soccer team scored their third win of the season on Wednesday in a 1-0 victory against visiting King City.
Martinez, who San Benito head coach Ramiro Ramos called up from the junior varsity team for that game, pocketed the game’s lone goal in the 46th minute and supplied the Haybalers with the one-goal victory. The goal was assisted by Alex Castillo.
Ramos brought Martinez up after the team’s leading scorer, Andres Hurtado, was sidelined with a sore thigh he suffered during the Dec. 3 match at Gonzales. Ramos decided to give the sophomore midfielder the day off with the hope he’ll be ready to go for Thursday’s Tri-County Athletic League opener at Palma.
San Benito is now 3-4 overall.
Following Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to Carmel, Ramos said the ‘Balers played far better against King City (2-4-1) in a game that was rescheduled from Nov. 26 due to inclement weather.
“The first 20 minutes,” Ramos said, “we were pounding on the door, taking shots. So it started in our favor.”
Against the Padres, however, San Benito fell behind 2-0 after Carmel scored goals in the 3rd minute, and then again in the 7th minute. Carmel found the back of the net a third time in the 50th minute.
“They played very well, very well organized,” Ramos said in regards to Carmel (4-1). “I didn’t like how my guys played … We had a long talk after the game.
“Our team has a lot of ball skills. I’m just trying to get them to use it to their advantage. When they get in that mindset, they can do it and they did it [against King City].”
Looking to mimic their performance from the Gonzales match, which Ramos has turned into a benchmark game for his team, the ‘Balers will battle Palma Thursday on the road at 3:30 p.m. The Chieftains kicked off the TCAL on Tuesday, losing 2-1 at Salinas.
“I’m just hoping they play like they did against Gonzales,” said Ramos, referring to the 3-2 victory, “and play like they did [against King City].”
