No spooks. No scares. No worries. The San Benito Haybalers
controlled their opening game of the Tri-County Athletic League
Tournament on Wednesday in Hollister, pushing past the Stevenson
Pirates 12-7.
No spooks. No scares. No worries.
The San Benito Haybalers controlled their opening game of the Tri-County Athletic League Tournament on Wednesday in Hollister, pushing past the Stevenson Pirates 12-7.
“That was fun, a game like that,” coach Tom Agan said afterward.
Despite the five-goal margin to end the game, the ‘Balers held leads of 8-2 at halftime and 11-4 after three quarters.
RLS managed to outscore the ‘Balers 3-1 in the fourth quarter, but Agan said about half of his starters were substituted out of the game at that point.
Junior Jordan Schafer led San Benito with four goals and an assist, while Adam Rianda scored three times and led the team in assists with five. Ryan Whiteside also scored three times, with Matt McCullough and Nick Angulo each supplying one goal a piece.
With the win, San Benito advances to Friday’s matchup at Carmel High School against the host Padres, a game that the ‘Balers have been anticipating after their 8-7 overtime loss to Carmel on Oct. 1.
The defense on Wednesday against RLS was solid, as San Benito held RLS to just two goals in the first half, and prevented the Pirates from scoring on three man-down opportunities. Goalie Kyle Reuther provided San Benito with nine saves.
But Agan feels the squad has some areas to improve upon before Friday’s match. Specifically, Agan said, improvement will be needed on the offensive end, as the ‘Baler attack needs to be more active.
“The offense is not broken,” he said. “It just needs some fine tuning.”
On Wednesday, RLS scored two of their five goals on long pool-length counterattacks. Pirate Zachary Chin was the recipient of both passes from RLS’ keeper, while Victor Atkins scored three goals for RLS.
“That’s exactly what I’m concerned about,” Agan said. “Every time we make a mistake on offense, every time we turn the ball over, they get to counter, and that’s what I’m really concerned about.”
In Carmel, San Benito will be dealing with a faster team in the Padres, who are seeded No. 2 in the TCAL Tournament. The match will begin at 4:30 p.m.
“If we can’t control the pace on offense, control the clock,” Agan said, “it’s going to be a tough game to win.”
