Spartans take wind out of Buccaneers’ sails, 3-1
EL CENTRO — For as dominant as the Central Union girls’ soccer team has been locally over the past decade, they’ve been a somewhat snake-bit when it comes to postseason play.
Before Wednesday the Spartans had only advanced past the first round of the playoffs (excepting byes) on one occasion — in 2017 when they eked out a 1-0 win over a Pacific Ridge squad that had been decimated by injuries and only had one available sub.
But now they’re back in the quarterfinals for the second time in program history — and the first time while competing in CIF-SDS Division II — after defeating the Buccaneers of Mission Bay High, 3-1, in a 10 vs. 7 (seed) matchup.
This game was satisfying in ways that the caveated win over Pacific Ridge was not. It saw the Spartans taking on an upper-division heavy-hitter without flinching.
Mission Bay brought plenty of size and speed, and they had defeated Central 2-1 in the Spartans’ second game of the season, but Central was able to dispel any lingering doubts they may have had and nail down the victory.
The first half was fairly kind to the Spartans. They didn’t dominate possession, but they got an early goal from Captain Jocelyn Flores and otherwise contained the game in the middle of the field.
It would have been a perfect period but for a long Buccaneer goal that found the back of the net right before the referee’s whistle blew to signal the end of the frame.
The second half was a full-on rollercoaster ride.
It kicked off with Mission Bay bringing heavy pressure. The first 10 minutes or so were spent in the Spartan half of the field, with plenty of heartto-throat near-misses that were saved by goalkeeper Ashley Quiroz or diverted by the active Central backfield.
The Spartans had few immediate opportunities to counterattack as they struggled to clear the ball and get out of danger, but they eventually managed to shift the game back toward equilibrium by focusing on their intermediate game to mitigate the advantage the Buccaneers had on balls in the air.
With 25 minutes to go, Central started to get on track offensively. Dayleth Palacios showed some fancy footwork and was able to get the ball ahead of the Mission Bay defense on multiple occasions.
Then, with 20 minutes left, the Spartans broke the game open when Palacios received the ball on the right side, juked her defender in the goal box with a hesitation dribble and kicked a cross that Alexis Garcia tipped to Flores, who put it in for goal No. 2.
And just a blink-and-you’ll miss it amount of time later, Central made it 3-1 on another Palacios breakaway, this one finished by Carly Nava.
The bang-bang goals staggered the Buccaneers, who struggled to regain their footing.
They managed another few shots on goal, but couldn’t beat Quiroz, setting the stage for some serious Spartan celebrations.
Flores (she of the two goals) was decidedly upbeat about the game’s result.
“It’s awesome,” she said. “The speed of the game was crazy, but not once did a doubt enter my mind that we weren’t going to come through. I believe in my team, and I know what we’re capable of, and getting the result (we did) … it’s amazing.”
She admitted the Spartans’ history of postseason stumbles added a bit of urgency to the proceedings, but contended that this only made her more determined to win.
“There was bit of pressure — the stakes were high — but [the pressure] didn’t really bring nerves. It just brought hunger,” she said.
With the win, the Spartans are set up to play second-seeded Patrick Henry High in round two on Saturday.
Beating the Patriots won’t be easy, but Flores is determined.
“It’s going to be tough,” she said, “No one’s going to let us have [anything] easy, but I think as long as we stay focused and have that hunger to keep moving forward all the way to the final, I think [we’ll go] a very long way.”