San Benito falls 3-0 on muddy field to Chieftains
Mother Nature has a tendency to get in the way sometimes.
The San Benito boys soccer team played their first game under the lights of Andy Hardin Stadium Thursday, but they were greeted with a plate of mud, mess and slop.
After a day of rain, temperatures dropped to the high-30s at game time against visiting Palma, which capitalized on the muddy field en route to a 3-0 victory in Tri-County Athletic League action.
San Benito coach Ben Alvarez said the poor field conditions had a “tremendous” affect on the game. With patches of slick grass and thick mud scattered across the field, the ball had a tendency to either take off or stop dead in its tracks.
“But it was on both sides,” Alvarez said of the field. “The only thing is that we failed to adjust on the [defensive] half.”
After both teams were held scoreless in the opening half, Palma’s Joe Corner deposited the game’s first score in the 45th minute off an assist by Christian Cardona.
From there, the Chieftains used the field conditions to their advantage, and fell back into a defensive mode.
With as many as six players back, Palma made it increasingly difficult for San Benito to penetrate offensively, and managed to keep the ‘Balers at bay as a result.
Alvarez said Palma even marked Josh Flores, one of San Benito’s main scoring threats, with as many as three players in an effort to contain him.
“They forced the outside mids to the inside where there help was,” Alvarez said. “As soon as they scored that goal, that’s all they did – defense.”
Palma’s Matt Ostarello supplied the Chieftains with a two-goal cushion in the 53rd minute off an assist from Daniel Johnsen, while Conor Boulger made the lead comfortable for Palma when he scored in the 78th minute off an assist by Anthony Melo.
“I can’t be mad at the boys. They fought until the end,” Alvarez said. “It’s unfortunate playing under these conditions, but that’s all we have.”
On Tuesday, the ‘Balers fell behind visiting Salinas early in the second half, and couldn’t rebound quickly enough in a 2-1 loss.
Gilbert Lizarraga scored the lone goal for San Benito in the 75th minute.
The ‘Balers are now 2-5 in the TCAL, 4-6-2 overall. They’ll play at Gilroy Saturday morning. Kick-off is at 10 a.m.
