San Benito High soccer teams eliminated from CCS playoffs

Playing at the same time but separated by 74 miles, the San Benito High boys and girls’ soccer teams suffered the same fate on Wednesday night, losing their opening-round Central Coast Section Division I playoff matches in heartbreaking fashion.
The boys had to travel to Belmont to face No. 8 seed Carlmont and lost 2-1 in double overtime. The girls, meanwhile, hosted a CCS game for just the second time in program history, but they dropped a 1-0 decision to No. 11 seed Alvarez.
“Of course you want to move on in the playoffs, but the important thing is to look back at the overall scope of the season and remember all the good things we accomplished,” Haybalers coach Becky Bonner said. “We knew Alvarez was a good team, had strong midfielders and they would be aggressive.”
The Eagles, who were the co-champions of the Monterey Bay League’s lower Pacific Division, proved to be more than up for the challenge against the Gabilan Division champion Balers.
The only score of the game came in the 74th minute when Jasmine Vargas, Alvarez’s outstanding forward who entered the contest with 19 goals, got behind the San Benito defense and hit a right-footed shot into the lower right corner.
Four minutes later, the game was halted for approximately 25 minutes due to lightning.
When the teams came back out of their respective locker rooms, the Balers knew they only had a couple of minutes to get the equalizer. It didn’t happen, leaving the San Benito players wondering what could’ve been.
“We played as hard as we could and really wanted it, but what can you do? We tried our best and it just didn’t happen for us,” said Balers forward Kayla Champion, who scored five goals this season, ranking fourth on the team. “
On the game’s only score, San Benito had just put a shot on goal when the Eagles made two quick passes down the field. All of a sudden, the ball was on the feet of Vargas, who was flying down the right seam past a couple of San Benito defenders.
Balers goalkeeper Jennifer Martin alertly came off her line and made a diving attempt at a save, but Vargas was able to unleash a shot just before Martin met her near the top of the 18-yard box.
It was only appropriate Vargas’ goal came on a lightning quick counterattack. Most of the game was played under a heavy downpour featuring 30 mph winds that often times blew the rain sideways, with a couple of lightning flashes mixed in at the end for good measure.
“That was probably the worst conditions I’ve ever played in,” Champion said. “It was hard to see the ball at times and the wind would take the ball the other way from where you thought it was going. We just had to play through it.”
San Benito had several quality chances to score, but it was stonewalled every time by the Alvarez goalkeeper. Balers junior Brianna Bengivengo accounted for five of the team’s eight shots on goal.
Bengivengo, who scored six goals this season, was active all game, repeatedly making strong runs from the left side. Playing a physical game, Bengivengo also utilized her speed to get by Alvarez defenders and put a number of dangerous shots on goal.
In the end, the loss couldn’t put a damper on the Balers’ season.
“We won the league championship, and that’s something no one can take away from us,” Champion said. “The best part of the season was the amazing bond the girls had on and off the field.”
The San Benito boys, who were making their first appearance in the CCS playoffs in 31 years, lost in double overtime. Host Carlmont scored in the 103rd minute, and the Balers couldn’t get the equalizer.
As a result, one of the most successful seasons in San Benito boys’ soccer history came to a close. The Balers had a magical season, overcoming an eight-point deficit midway through the league season to overtake Monterey and win the MBL Pacific Division championship, and with it, the automatic berth into the postseason.
The Balers finished the season with a 13-6-2 record.