‘It means a lot to these kids and I feel for them.’ Livingston falls short in final.
A slow start doomed the Livingston High boys soccer team as the Wolves came up short in a 2-0 loss to Galt in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship on Thursday night at Tokay High.
The Warriors struck for two goals in the first 22 minutes and held off Livingston in a rematch of last year’s tile game, which was also won by Galt 3-2 in overtime.
“It means a lot to these kids and I feel for them,” said Livingston coach Art Pulido. “I couldn’t reiterate it enough, we can’t start slow. We got off to a slow start here and gave up some easy goals.
“I don’t think this score reflected how well we played. Except those first two goals we were on them.”
Gilberto Lopez gave top-seeded Galt (22-1-1) a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute when he deposited a shot in the right corner of the net.
Just 12 minutes later, teammate Jason Welch slid and redirected a ball into the net with his right foot to extend the lead to 2-0.
“This is tough but we brought it upon ourselves,” said Livingston senior Estevan Moreno. “We’ve been working to get to this game all year long. We have nobody to blame but ourselves. We gave it all we had.”
The Wolves came out aggressive in the second half, putting pressure on the Warriors. However, Livingston couldn’t find a way to break through for a goal.
Livingston’s best opportunity came on a free kick by Julian Cabrera from 25 yards out midway through the second half, but Cabrera’s shot sailed over the crossbar.
Last year’s title game ended in controversy with a foul in the final seconds of overtime, which led to a penalty kick and a win for Galt.
There was no controversy this time.
“This is the third time I’ve been to a section final as a coach and it’s two years in a row losing to the same team,” Pulido said. “It is hard. It’s difficult. Our guys worked so hard this year, but they defeated us fair and square this time.
“I just know it would have been a different game if we could have got an early lead.”
This story was originally published February 22, 2019 at 10:35 AM.