Knights fall to Saints

KHS to apply for at-large berth

Kelseyville took a 2-1 lead into halftime, but St. Helena came back to beat the Knights 5-2 in North Central League I varsity boys soccer action Tuesday night in St. Helena, earning a share of the league title in the process.

St. Helena and Roseland University Prep both went 4-0-2 in league play.

“We scared them for 65 minutes,” Kelseyville head coach KC White said of his players. “I'm proud of them for that.”

Kelseyville (1-4-1 league, 6-5-1 overall) entered play with only four reserves, forcing White to use a 12-man rotation in the first half.

“It came back to bite us in the second half,” White said. “We were running out of gas.”

Angel Garcia's penalty kick tied the score at 1-1 in the 16th minute. Aiden Rivas put Kelseyville ahead 2-1 with a goal in the 37th minute, with the assist going to Javon Pantaleon.

St. Helena finally pulled even at 2-2 in the 65th minute before taking a 3-2 lead on a penalty kick a short time later.

“It was snowballed after that,” White said of the Saints' mounting momentum, which included two insurance goals in the final minutes of the game.

“St. Helena has a good team, a lot of speed,” White said.

The play on the backline of Omar De La Cruz stood out for the Knights, according to White.

“His play kept us in the game,” White said. “He made a lot of good defensive plays back there.”

The Knights are applying for an at-large berth in next week's North Coast Section Division 4 playoffs. They'll find out on Sunday if they've been included in the playoff field and who and where they are playing in the first round.