Golden Valley miscue turns tide in soccer playoff game

Golden Valley’s fortunes changed on a single play Thursday night.

Staked to an early lead and completely controlling the opening 20 minutes, the Cougars gifted Cosumnes Oaks an equalizer when goalkeeper Marina Arroyo mishit a clearance. The ball rolled right to senior striker Ariel Klink, who promptly finished before Arroyo could recover.

The Wolf Pack star had barely touched the ball to that point, but there was no slowing her down after that. Klink finished with a hat trick, and Cosumnes Oaks advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II soccer semifinals with a 3-1 victory at Veterans Stadium.

“We weren’t the same team after that goal,” Cougars coach Lance Eber said. “I felt like we dominated possession and we did what we talked about before the game. We wanted to come out and shoot first and score first.

“We did both, but our confidence dropped as soon as we gave up that goal.”

It was the ideal start for Golden Valley (13-7-3) as right wing Justyne Sanchez opened the scoring just five minutes in.

Brandy Cervantes made an excellent one-time switch of the field to find Sanchez unmarked on the right wing. The Cosumnes Oaks defense opted to fall back and allow Sanchez to have a free run at it. She obliged, driving in and ripping a bouncing shot off the wet turf from 25 yards out. Wolf Pack goalkeeper Charli Haase had the far post covered but could do little as the ball skipped hard off the turf and in.

Most of the action remained on the Cosumnes Oaks (12-6-3) half for the opening 21 minutes, but the Wolf Pack managed to level things against the run of play.

GV defender Danielle Vigil chased down a long ball and sent a pass back to Arroyo (five saves) to relieve pressure. The senior appeared to be trying to pass it right back to Vigil on the wing but shanked her attempt into Klink’s path.

Before the stunned Cougars had a chance to regroup, Klink put her team on top.

The senior outran the GV defense on a bouncing through ball and fired a low shot in on Arroyo. The Cougar keeper turned the initial shot away, but the rebound went right back to Klink, who slammed it home for a 2-1 lead in the 25th minute.

“They gained a lot of confidence off of that first goal, and I think we dropped our heads a little bit,” Sanchez said. “Having the two goals back-to-back definitely hurt us, but I felt like we fought back.

“I think nerves were definitely a factor with us being a pretty young team, and we started forcing passes instead of taking our time like we did early in the game.”

The Cougar attack definitely had frantic moments after it fell behind, often rushing passes and struggling to combine between the midfielders and strikers.

GV’s best chances the rest of the way came from Sanchez on the wing. She sent a number of dangerous balls in, but Golden Valley either couldn’t catch up with them or provide the finishing touch.

Klink put the game out of reach in the 63rd minute, volleying a Selina Andres cross into the far-side netting from just inside the 18-yard box.

“She’s a senior that knows how to finish when you give her a chance,” Eber said. “We controlled the game, but (Klink’s) the one who had the composure to make the most of her chances.”

This story was originally published May 7, 2015 at 11:34 PM with the headline "Golden Valley miscue turns tide in soccer playoff game."