The San Benito High boys’ soccer team came out with plenty of speed and intensity in the first half of Thursday’s Monterey Bay League Pacific Division match against visiting Christopher.
The Cougars, meanwhile, were noticeably flat-footed. Ultimately, that was the difference in the Haybalers’ 3-1 victory. San Benito improved to 2-0-0 in division play, while Christopher dropped to 0-1-1.
“Discipline-wise, this is the best team I’ve had,” said Balers coach Tony Deras, who is in his fourth year with the program. “There are no egos, and all the players do what they’re supposed to do.”
In forging a 2-0 halftime lead, the Balers repeatedly had the Cougars on the defensive, producing a half-dozen uncontested shots within the 18-yard box. There was just one problem — they couldn’t finish.
San Benito could’ve easily been up by four or five goals at the half, but its inability to fire in shots from close range to go along with the fine play of Cougars goalkeeper Carlos Arroyo kept the game competitive.
“Carlos was amazing,” Christopher coach Ricardo Espinosa said. “He’s kept us in games all year, and the final score could’ve been a lot worse. It could’ve easily been five or six goals for Hollister, but he came up with some big saves.”
While the Cougars had the better of the action in the second half, they couldn’t overcome their slow start. The Balers scored in the eighth minute when Raul Cortes sent a nifty diagonal right to left pass to Leonardo Vaca, who had caught the Christopher defense napping.
Arroyo was forced to come way off his line and nearly made a spectacular save, but an alert Vaca hit a left-footed shot just as Arroyo went into his slide, and with the goal open, the ball trickled in.
In the 30th minute, Roberto Rodriguez, who was running down the right flank, put the Balers up 2-0 when he sent a shot from 15 yards away to the lower left corner after he blew by two Christopher defenders.
Rodriguez nearly scored again just before halftime only to see Arroyo make a leaping punch save.
“In the first half, we were so flat and guys weren’t going to the ball,” Espinosa said. “Hollister is physical and fast, and if you allow them to get in your head, they will punish you for it. Unfortunately for us, that’s exactly what happened.”
Despite the slow start, the Cougars cut their deficit in half three minutes into the second half, as Hibsen Tamayo-Davila scored from point-blank range after receiving a nice feed from Aldair Robles.
However, San Benito answered just two minutes later, as Francisco Miranda, who had only recently been called up to the varsity team from the junior varsity squad, scored on one of the weirder sequences you’ll ever see.
It all started when Balers goalkeeper Cesar Perez delivered a huge kick that traveled to the Christopher side of the field and onto the foot of Cortes, who threaded a pass to a streaking Miranda in the penalty area.
Miranda touched the ball ever so slightly toward the Christopher goal, and a breakdown in communication from the Cougars resulted in a San Benito goal, a harmless, bouncing ball that somehow found its way into the net.
“That was a killer,” Espinosa said. “We had some momentum, and then we allow a goal like that on a mistake, it’s tough.”
Once again, the Balers won with a balanced performance. Lacking a true superstar talent, San Benito has received strong offensive play from Vaca, Cortes and Ricardo Becerra, to go along with precocious play from a backline that includes freshman Victor Perez and sophomore Juan Castellanos.
“They’re young, but they got the job done,” Deras said. “I like the way our guys have been playing, but we need to finish the second half of games like we do the first half. If we can find that consistency, I think this team can do some special things.”
