Sudden death goal lifts North Salinas
SALINAS >> Francisco Ramos sent his teammates into a victorious celebration as a magical season continues for the North Salinas High boys' soccer team.
Ramos sent a penalty kick through the upper ride side of the net in overtime Tuesday, propelling the Vikings to a 2-1 win over San Francisco University High in the Northern California Division IV boys' soccer playoffs.
On the heels of the program's first outright Central Coast Section title last Saturday, No. 4 seeded North Salinas will visit No. 2 Livingston of Merced County — 1-0 winners over Delano — on Thursday at 5 p.m.
Just two county teams have ever reached the Northern California tournament, with Alisal capturing the Division II title in 2018 and King City winning the Division V title last winter.
“I think more than anything, there was a little sense of relief,” North Salinas coach Jesus Ramos said. “I felt we were the better team, but weren't showing it. We had to refocus.”
Ramos' goal came a little more than 10 minutes into the 15-minute sudden-death overtime period, when a foul awarded him a penalty kick in which he converted — his second goal in as many games.
“We weren't 100 percent focused before the game,” Gomez said. “I could see it in warmups. We tried to get them refocused. I think we were still on a cloud from winning the section title. We had our banquet last night.”
Having not allowed a goal in three previous playoff games, the Vikings found themselves staring at a 1-0 deficit when the Red Devils — who fell in their North Coast Section title game — produced the game's first goal at the 61-minute mark.
Dating back to the regular season, it was the first goal North Salinas — which finished fourth in the Pacific Coast Athletic League's Gabilan Division — had allowed in over 450 minutes.
“That's when we started playing and got serious,” said Gomez, whose squad is unbeaten in its past five games.
A resilient Vikings' team responded late in the regulation when Luis Godinez tied the game with a goal, forcing overtime, where a sudden death 15-minute period is played instead of two 10-minute overtime periods.
Strong play in the midfield from Aaron Esquivel and Jeshua Guevara grounded the Red Devils (12-7-5) attack in overtime as the Vikings applied pressure, leading to Ramos' heroics.
“We have another game on Thursday,” said Gomez, whose team improved to 145-5. “We had lapses like this in the regular season that cost us games. We need to make the most of our practice.”
Monte Vista 1, Alisal 0, OT
For the second straight game, the Trojans failed to produce a goal. This time it cost them their season in falling in sudden death to Monte Vista in the Northern California Division I playoffs.
Before Alisal's last two games, it had failed to score in just two other games over a 23-game season — both resulting in draws.
“I've had some of these guys for three years,” Alisal coach Mark Cisneros said. “We had a good run. Things happen. It's hard to maintain that consistency. Mental setbacks happen that affect the team. It was tough tonight. There's a finality to it.”
The top-ranked team in the Central Coast Section entering the postseason, the Gabilan Division champions and section Open Division runner-ups finished the year 18-3-2.
Seeded No. 5 in the tournament, the Trojans were facing a Monte Vista program that was coming off a North Coast Section title and was 22-1-5. Its last setback was on Jan. 3 to De La Salle — avenging that loss in the playoffs with a 2-0 win.
For Monte Vista, this was its second straight game in which it used overtime dramatics to extend its season, beating Vintage in the NCS title game last Saturday 1-0.
“We just couldn't make that final pass,” Cisneros said. “Our leading scorer hasn't been the same since injuring his knee two weeks ago. He's a player that gives us a spark.”
Cisneros was talking about Nathan Saldana, who came into the postseason with a team-high 17 goals and six assists.
“He has a lot of heart,” Cisneros said. “He tried to play through the pain. He almost put one in. Nathan and Yoni Avelar (Gabilan Division MVP) have been the heart of the team.”
Before falling to Mountain View 1-0 in the CCS title game, the Trojans had gone 20 games without a setback — a streak that dates back to Dec. 8 when they fell to Bellarmine in a nonleague game.