Announcement
Spartans can’t overcome Cougars
By TOM RONCO, Special to this
newspaper
Wednesday, February 22, 2006 3:09 PM PST
Central Union High’s Adriana Moreno (left) and Illiana Villegas steal the ball from Chelsey Jenner of Steele Canyon High of Spring Valley during their CIF-San Diego Section Division III playoff game Tuesday in El Centro. The Cougars beat the Spartans 4-2. Playing a physical brand of soccer with heart and determination, Central Union High still lost its opening-round CIF San Diego Section Division III girls’ soccer match to Steele Canyon High 4-2 at Cal Jones Field on Tuesday.“We knew we had to play hard and we were ready,” said Central coach Ramon Lopez. “They played exactly as they had to. We knew the way they play in San Diego and the team knew they had to be tough.”
The only Division III team in the larger-school-dominated Grossmont Conference, Steele Canyon (14-9, 5-5 GC) of Spring Valley came into the match as the seventh seed but the 10th-seeded Spartans (16-1-4, 11-0-1 IVL) received the home game because they were Imperial Valley League champs.
“It’s a little colder here but this is a great field and a great environment,” said Cougar coach Charlie Cleaves. “It was a great crowd and it’s good to see the support that soccer gets here.”
The Cougars opened the match aggressively and scored in the seventh minute when Jennifer Schafer picked up a loose ball outside the penalty box and sent a shot past Central goalkeeper Carolina Ochoa.
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Ochoa made three saves over the next three minutes before Steele Canyon’s Chelsea Jenner took a crossing pass, beat a defender and scored the Cougars’ second goal in the 17th minute.
Trailing 2-0, Central’s Karina Carmona dribbled into the penalty box from the left side in the 29th minute and split two defenders with a cross to Adriana Moreno, who fought off a defender and slid a shot into the net.
“It was a very good pass and I saw it all the way,” said Moreno, a junior. “They were very physical and I just beat the defender to the ball.”
Down 2-1 at halftime, Lopez thought his team was where he wanted it to be.
“I wanted us to stay close in the first half and when we were down 2-1, I wasn’t worried because usually we’re a second-half team,” Lopez said.
Indeed, Central opened the second half by attacking the Cougars for seven minutes before giving up a counter-attack goal to Jenner, who scored on a header.
Central again answered the challenge, pressing with new urgency on the Steele Canyon side of the pitch. The pressure paid off in the 12th minute of the half when midfielder Teresa Gonzalez took a loose ball bouncing through the penalty box and volleyed a high-arcing shot that glanced off the goalkeeper’s fingers and went into the net.
“I saw it bouncing and said ‘This is my ball’ and I went for it and kicked it toward the goal,” said Gonzalez, a senior.
Two defensive lapses by the Spartans allowed the Cougars to score their fourth goal. First, Central failed to chase down a loose ball that became a corner kick, then the Spartans left Jenner unmarked and she redirected the corner kick into the net.
In the last 15 minutes of the game Central found itself in the unenviable position of actually having to play more defense against the Cougars’ pressure than attacking.
“Central hung in there with us and they didn’t let up,” said Cleaves. “Every time we scored they responded and at the end we had a lot more depth and we were fresher.”
Clearly, the Spartans’ heart could not be questioned.
“I think physically we are in condition but we weren’t pushed as hard down here as they are up there. That’s what it was … it’s a totally different style down here in the IVL,” said Lopez. “We talked before the game about leaving everything on the field and they did … as a coach there’s nothing else you can ask for.”
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