Cards’ season comes to an end

There were plenty of tears, and a bottle thrown, following a frustrating 1-0 loss to Sierra Pacific by Lindsay High School in Tuesday’s CIF Central Section Division V semifinal game on the road.

The top-seeded Golden Bears (16-3-1, 11-1 ESL) had been a thorn in the fifth-seeded Cardinals’ side all season, serving Lindsay 1-0 and 4-1 losses during East Sequoia League play.

Sierra Pacific knocked Lindsay out of the quarterfinals of the Div. V playoffs last year as well with a 2-0 win, but this time around the Golden Bears only needed one goal to advance.

The first half belonged almost entirely to Sierra Pacific with the Golden Bears dominating possession, taking several corner kicks and holding Lindsay (15-8-3, 9-3 ESL) to just two shots on goal.

Sierra Pacific played composed, and when their chance at a goal came in the 16th minute, they pounced on it and scored. Stacey Patino scored the game winner after Lindsay goalkeeper, senior Beatriz Llamas, couldn’t contain the ball after coming out on a shot. Before the Cardinals’ defenders could get to it, Patino came through the middle to score in the unguarded goal.

“In the first half they dominated us,” LHS head coach Freddie Martinez said. “And that goal shouldn’t have gotten in. We made a mistake and they made us pay for it. We just needed one to win.”

Lindsay’s offense picked up significantly in the second half but they still couldn’t get anything to go in. With junior midfielder Belen Ferreira and senior forward Evelyn Martinez playing on the left, the Cardinals offense had more chances but they were dealt a major blow when Martinez was hit hard and forced to come out in pain in the 28th minute. There was no foul called.

On top of that, senior midfielder Teresita Magaña, another of the team’s key offensive players, had remained on the bench for much of the second half after feeling a muscle pull in the first half.

“It was a big loss,” Freddie Martinez said. “Those are my runners. They can shoot from anywhere [and we] needed to take more shots.”

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