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Back
against the wall, the VC boys deliver 1/13
Valley Christian 3, St. Francis 0
In a league as strong
as the West Catholic Athletic League, every game seems like a must win.
Today was no different. The boys varsity soccer team was on the road to
face the #7 ranked St. Francis Lancers. The Lancers were coming off a
victory over #4 ranked Mitty.
Having been held to a
tie this week vs. Riordan, the game had to be a W. In danger of falling
further behind a very tight race, the Warriors responded in convincing
fashion.
"Everybody expects us
to lose this game, we have to go out and show that we can put these guys
away" coach Basanese commented
before the game.
A rain soaked, muddy
field awaited as the Warriors took the pitch. The game started out with
the Lancers applying immediate pressure, threatening the VC goal early
and often. VC star 'keeper Ben Hansen
once again proved up to the task turning away St. Francis several times.
Another frustrating
game where the Warriors would outplay a team and not score looked likely
to happen. Then Andrew Smith stepped up and
changed the game.
In the 14th minute
Austin Keeling took the ball at midfield
and threaded a pass to Jeff Coggan. Coggan
did well to hold the ball until he could dish a cheeky pass to an
on-running Smith who buried the one timer with his left foot off the far
post and into the net.
As the stunned Lancers
recovered, the Warriors struck again.
Coggan took a corner
from the right side and drove a low ball through the Lancer box.
Chris Zambataro snapped the ball on his
first touch into the left side netting. The goal was extra special for
Zambataro since he had arrived late to the game after attending the
funeral of a loved one. He pointed to the sky as he ran back past
dejected St. Francis defenders.
The Warriors defense
put on a show once again, led by senior captain
Garrett Ruiz. "Corry, Ruiz, Benny, and
Mac (McElhatton) put on a show
today. Ruiz is so good, it's fun to watch" stated Coach Basanese after
the game.
Finally in the 68th
minute, the clouds parted and some absolute brilliance shone through.
Austin played a ball to Coggan who combined on a quick wall pass with
Joey Stryker. As Coggan made an
intelligent run, Stryker threaded the ball past two St. Francis
defenders onto his foot. Jeff took the pass and fired a delightful line
drive shot into the far post side netting to finish the scoring.
"His pass couldn't
have been more perfect. I knew if I gave him the ball he'd put me
in, Joey read it absolutely perfect...great pass" Jeff Coggan said
referring to Stryker's assist on his goal.
"I actually feel sorry
for the fans on the far side of the field, that goal was magic and I'm
not sure they saw it like I did" Basanese said about the goal.
Immediately after the
game, coach Donny Fugate
commented. "I'm not surprised one bit. We've always had this in
us, we are at top 10 team...we just haven't been scoring. We've
said it all year, when the kids start believing in their potential it's
all going to fall into place."
The Warriors will host
St. Ignatius this saturday at 11 am. Don't miss this terribly important
game...Last time VC and SI tied 0-0 in San Francisco.
In other news...Mitty
defeated Bellarmine 1-0 today.
vcsoccer.com man of the match: Jeff Coggan 1g, 2a
| Valley Christian |
2 |
1 |
3 |
| St. Francis |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Scoring summary:
Smith (Coggan) 14th
Zambataro (Coggan) 19th
Coggan (Stryker) 68th
VC Starting Lineup: Hansen, Strate, Ruiz, McElhatton,
Field, Zambataro, Stryker, Osuna, Keeling, Coggan, Smith
Weather: Cloudy 50 degrees |
