Guzman lifts Ganesha past Rancho Cucamonga
POMONA >> Putting pressure on the opposition’s goalkeeper in soccer on seemingly ordinary plays doesn’t always lead to success.
But when it does, makes it all worthwhile.
Jesse Guzman’s second goal of the game, taking advantage of a goalkeeper bobble in second-half stoppage time, lifted the Ganesha boys soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Rancho Cucamonga in a CIF Southern Section Division 4 opener Thursday night
The victory sends the Miramonte League trichampion Giants (11-6-5), winners of seven straight games, to today’s second round where they will play at Tesoro. The Cougars, who finished third in the Baseline League, see their season end with a 12-6-5 record.
“Home field advantage played a factor,” Ganesha coach Damian Galvan said. “We had the crowd to give us that extra boost. That was huge for us. It was a tough-fought game where we knew this was a team of quality, so that’s going to give us a boost of confidence going to the next round.”
With the score tied 1-1, Ganesha’s Jacob Flores sent a high, arcing ball toward Cougars goalie Nick Murphy at the edge of the 18yard box.
Guzman broke to put pressure as Murphy came out to catch the ball. And when Murphy bobbled the ball, Guzman seized the loose ball and put it into the open net with his left foot.
“I’m thinking about going after it or just stopping,”
it
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Guzman said. “But when I saw him step out that’s when I pressured him and scored. I thought I was going to miss, because I’m not a lefty, I’m a righty. I just shot it with my left and it went in.”
Ganesha still had about three more minutes to defend after that, but the Cougars could not generate any quality scoring chances.
It was a disappointing end for the Cougars, who fell behind early, tied it in the second half and had the majority of scoring opportunities after halftime.
“It’s frustrating,” Rancho Cucamonga coach Matt Garner said. “You put high pressure on, do the right things and sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce the right way.”
Ganesha got on the board in the 15th minute when Guzman found a clear lane at the top of the box to fire a shot past Murphy.
“I picked up my head and saw there was space, so I took the shot,” Guzman said.
Ganesha freshman goalie Gabriel Chaidez helped keep the Giants in the lead with several key saves, especially off of Rancho Cucamonga’s set pieces.
But Rancho Cucamonga tied the score in the 64th minute, when Emiliano Tovar took a free kick from 28 yards out and connected with teammates Brody Foulds in the box, knocking it past Chaidez to make it 1-1.