Walking off the field, their faces said it all
— a win, and at the very least a tie, had been swiped from their
grasp, all in the matter of 18 minutes of soccer. Little went right
in the second half for the San Benito boys’ soccer team on Tuesday.
Leading three-time defending champion Alisal by two goals at the
break, the Balers squandered the
lead after the Trojans were awarded two kicks inside San
Benito’s box — one a penalty kick that knotted the game at 2-all,
and another an indirect free kick that supplied Alisal with the
eventual 3-2 victory.
HOLLISTER
Walking off the field, their faces said it all — a win, and at the very least a tie, had been swiped from their grasp, all in the matter of 18 minutes of soccer.
“It’s hard because we had the game,” senior midfielder Steven Mercado said afterward. “To lose like this, it just seems unfair.”
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Little went right in the second half for the San Benito boys’ soccer team on Tuesday. Leading three-time defending champion Alisal by two goals at the break, the Balers squandered the lead after the Trojans were awarded two kicks inside San Benito’s box — one a penalty kick that knotted the game at 2-all, and another an indirect free kick that supplied Alisal with the eventual 3-2 victory.
“I thought we should have won this game,” Mercado added.
Giving up three goals in 18 minutes of play can certainly supply a stinging sensation, but, to make matters worse, the Balers also vehemently disagreed with both second-half calls that awarded the Trojans a pair of high-percentage shots on net.
For the penalty kick, San Benito was called for tripping inside the box when one player tried to corral a loose ball with a slide tackle. The San Benito defender reached the ball before the Trojan forward, although his momentum on the slide carried him into the opposing player.
Referees stopped play to discuss the foul, and spoke to one another for approximately two minutes before awarding Alisal a PK.
Andoni Trejo then deposited the free kick right side to tie the game at 2-all. The equalizer came just two minutes after the Trojans first found the scoreboard in the 58th minute off a baseline pass from Johnny Cruz to Manny Negrete.
“We were playing all right. They were just attacking us and we didn’t have control,” San Benito forward Francisco Palomino said.
The go-ahead dagger for Alisal didn’t come until the waning moments of regulation, but it came on a call by the referees that left the San Benito faithful — coaches, players and fans all together — on edge.
Following a corner kick in San Benito’s zone that resulted in a header attempt by Alisal, the Balers were whistled for yet another penalty after several players — both Balers and Trojans alike — were left lying on the ground.
But Palomino said referees whistled the play after a Trojan player was kicked in the face, leading to an indirect free kick from inside the box.
Alisal then converted seconds later, when Trejo punched the ball out to the left side to an open Cruz for the team’s third goal of the second half, and what would be the game-winning goal as well.
San Benito erupted, however, feeling that the referee was still in the process of pushing the Balers back — in an effort to “build a wall” on Alisal’s free kick — when the Trojans went ahead and deposited the go-ahead goal.
Despite their claims, and unfortunately for the Balers, the goal stood. Afterward, Palomino said he felt robbed.
“We had the first half. We were playing all right in the first half, but could have been better,” said Palomino, who pocketed the game’s first goal off an assist by Mercado early on.
Andres Hurtado then staked the Balers to a two-goal lead just before halftime, but it was a lead that wasn’t enough for San Benito.
“We still have a shot,” said San Benito head coach Tony Deras, referring to the team’s postseason chances. At 5-5-1 in the Tri-County Athletic League, 11-5-2 overall, San Benito is enjoying its best season in recent memory, as the program has finished in the bottom three of the TCAL in each of the last seven years.
But Tuesday’s loss to the Trojans didn’t help one bit.
At best, San Benito can still finish in third place in the TCAL this year, behind both Alisal and Gilroy, which have earned the league’s two automatic qualifying bids toward the CCS playoffs.
The Balers can still get in as an at-large team, too, although the TCALs “B” league status will make their postseason inclusion an uphill battle.
San Benito will host Everett Alvarez Thursday at 3:30 p.m., while playoff seedings will be announced this weekend in San Jose.
“It feels good that we’re changing the soccer program,” Mercado said. “But we really want to go farther, to go to CCS. That’s why this hurts so much today.”
TEAM 1 2 F
ALIS 0 3 3
SANB 2 0 2
