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Late Serra
comeback ties Warriors 1/18
Valley Christian 3, Junipero Serra 3
At
3-2-3, the VC Boys varsity soccer team sat in second place in the WCAL
going into Tuesday's game with Serra. With several of the WCAL
coaches in attendance to scout the game, it was an up and down affair.
After jumping out to a 2-0 lead, and holding a 3-1 lead late...the
Warriors conceded two late goals to share the points with the Padres.
The
game started out with probably the fastest goal in Valley Christian
Soccer history. In the first minute of the game,
Austin Keeling fed
Joey Stryker a ball that he blasted with
his left foot from 20 yards out into the right upper V. The goalie
barely even moved as the shot went straight into the stunned 'keeper's
net.
"That
thing was in from the moment he hit it, what a goal!" coach
Donny Fugate said.
After
the goal, a well organized Serra team began to pressure the Warrior
defense and took back the momentum. Serra star Jay Singh repeatedly fed
the Padre forwards who were kept at bay by the Warrior defense.
In the
17th minute, with the momentum going Serra's way, the Warriors struck
again. After a near goal on a corner kick, Cole
Bales fired a shot home from long range off of a clearance. For
Cole, it was his second goal in two games, and third of the season.
Just
before half, Serra got the chance to cut the lead in half when VC
'keeper Ben Hansen took a player out in
the box. Ryan Corry appeared to know which
way the player would shoot as he whispered in Ben's ear. As expected,
Hansen dove to his right and saved the Penalty.
The
Warriors went into half time with a 2-0 lead.
In the
second half, it would be a different story. Though the VC boys
controlled the ball for most of the half, Serra was able to come within
one on a short range shot that beat Hansen.
Not to
be outdone, Jeff Coggan put the Warriors
ahead by two again with 16 minutes left.
Cody Harrell played Jeff a through ball that he took and easily beat
the sweeper to put him in with the Goalie. As the Serra 'keeper charged,
Jeff put the ball in the back of the net. 3-1.
Above: Coggan scores to make it 3-1
Late
flurries, including a nice one touch re-direct by Singh led the Serra
Padres to a 3-3 tie.
"This
is a tough one to take," said VC coach
John Basanese after the game.
"The kids played well, we had a lead and we let it slip away. It's gotta
be better than this if we expect to hold onto second place. We'll still
be ok, but it makes Thursday's game at Mitty even bigger now..."
The
Warriors retain second place for now, and will travel to Archbishop
Mitty to try to improve on a 2-2 tie earlier in the season. Check back
at vcsoccer.com for updates on the game.
See
pictures from the game here.
vcsoccer.com man of the match: Jeff Coggan, 1g
| Serra |
0 |
3 |
3 |
| Valley Christian |
2 |
1 |
3 |
Scoring summary:
Stryker (Keeling) '1
Bales (UA) '17
Coggan (Cody Harrell)
'64
VC Starting Lineup: Hansen, Corry, Ruiz, McElhatton,
Bales, Zambataro, Stryker, Osuna, Keeling, Coggan, Smith
Weather: Sunny 64 degrees |
