Missed opportunities for Lindsay
Lions score game-winner in second half
One bounce of the soccer ball was the difference in Lindsay High School boys soccer defending its Valley title.
Second-seeded Mira Monte (25-2-4) benefitted from that bounce midway through the second half and held on for a 1-0 win over the top-seeded Cardinals in the CIF Central Section Division IV championship at Frank Skadan Stadium in Lindsay.
“Very difficult to process this, because it is the end,” said Lindsay coach Tony Godoy. “The game could have went either way. It was just a matter of one opportunity. I mean, 1-0, that is a close as it gets. I told the guys winning one is so hard, the ball has to bounce the right way, you got to get maybe one lucky call here, one lucky call there, but one mistake.”
Over the final 15 minutes of the game, Lindsay (23-32) had chances to square the game at 1, but just couldn’t break through Mira Monte’s defense.
“Two great teams. Ten times we play that game, they win five and we win five,” Godoy said. “It’s unfortunate we are on this side of it.”
Nearly all of the Cardinals scoring opportunities came off of set plays from either corner kicks or free kicks, following a Lions penalty.
“I thought we could take advantage of them on set pieces,” Godoy said. “We definitely had the advantage there.”
It didn’t matter how far out Lindsay was taking the free kick, the game plan was to send the ball into the Mira Monte box and try to head the ball into the goal or set up another player. The Cardinals’ shots were on goal, but just to high.
“Even if it was 40 yards away, we knew something would happen,” Godoy said.
Early in the second half, senior Oscar Lira had his header on a corner from Moises Bettencourt just slide over the cross bar. Following the miss, Lira let out a yell of disgust as another scoring chance floated away.
It was a game of contrasting styles as the Cardinals used their ball-control, quick passing game to dominate the ball and time of possession. Lindsay’s formidable offense had its chances, but came up short time and again.
“Missed opportunities,” Godoy said. “Our chances were created off of those set plays, it was just unfortunate not to have one little goal go in.”
Mira Monte on the other hand, packed its side of the field with six and sometimes eight defenders, not counting the goalkeeper, and looked to hit the home run on offense by clearing the ball forward to its speedy wings and striker.
“It’s real defensive,” Godoy said. “It’s very difficult to get behind. We had not seen that all year.”
All the Lions needed was one opening and it came with just under 18 minutes into the second half. Junior Victor Morillo barely beat Lindsay senior goalkeeper Braian Alvarado to the ball just inside the keeper’s box and somehow during the ensuing collision he managed to direct the ball into the open net.
It wasn’t pretty, but it was enough.
“They played for that one chance, and they got it here,” Godoy said. “That one chance, they launched it forward to that guy and it happened. It’s ugly soccer, but it worked for them.”
Two minutes before the game-winner was scored, Alvarado kept the game scoreless with an outstretched, sliding save that nudged the ball off course and out of danger.
Lindsay’s best chance to score in the closing minutes was a solid shot from the top of the box off the foot of senior Marcos Ceballos that was gobbled up by the Mira Monte keeper.
In the first half, the bounces were going Lindsay’s way on defense as junior goalkeeper Albert Gutierrez thwarted an attempt from Morillo with a kick save with under 13 minutes left before halftime. Five minutes into the game, the Cardinals’ Lira saved a goal by blocking a rebound attempt after Gutierrez made the initial tumbling save.
Following the loss, Godoy told his team he was proud of their accomplishments over the past two years and said he looked forward to following their careers at the next level.
No boys soccer team in Lindsay history has won back-to-back Valley titles. The Cardinals came up short in 2009 after winning it all in 2008.
“I wanted this team to go down as the best team to ever come out of Lindsay and I think there would have been no argument for that if we would have won,” Godoy said. “One shot away from making a difference. I’m extremely proud of these guys. They showed me beautiful soccer every single day, it was fun to watch. I am going to miss these guys.”