Merced, Atwater and Livingston soccer teams not content with reaching the semis

The Merced High School soccer team has no shortage of motivation entering tonight’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinal match against Cosumnes Oaks.

Only a handful of Bears participated in both of the team’s semifinal exits the previous two years, but the sting lingers. Then there’s the prospect of rival Atwater awaiting in the section final after denying Merced the Central California Conference title. Throw in the fact that No. 2 Cosumnes Oaks (14-2-5) is the defending Division II champion, and Bears coach Bart McAfee expects his team to be frothing at the mouth when it takes the pitch for the 6:30 p.m. start in Elk Grove.

“I believe they’re going to come out fired up,” McAfee said. “We had a really good practice on Monday, and everybody seems ready to go.

“I think it helps that we’ve been the lower seed the last few years. We’re used to going on the road and playing some good teams at their place. We’ve been great at home this year, but we’ve played well on the road also.

“Hopefully, the kids come out with a chip on their shoulders and we can get to that championship game.”

Sixth-seeded Merced (20-4-3) is one of three local teams hoping to advance to Saturday’s section finals. No. 1 Atwater (24-2-3) will host No. 4 Vintage (17-1-3) at Falcon Field in the other DII semifinal, while No. 5 Livingston (13-4-5) will travel to top-seeded Galt (18-3-4) in a Division IV semifinal. Both matches are set for 6:30 p.m.

While Merced has plenty of playoff experience to draw upon, Atwater and Livingston are in uncharted territory. The Falcons last advanced to the semifinals in 2006. Livingston last accomplished the feat in 2008, a year after coach Art Pulido helped the team win it all as a player.

“I think the guys have definitely settled in,” Atwater coach Jimmy Brewer said. “We played much better in our second game than we did in the first one.

“The kids are excited. They know the section title game is just a win away. This school is very good at embracing teams that do well. We’re the only fall sport still playing, so I think we’re going to have our biggest crowd yet and the kids will hopefully feed off of it.”

Pulido’s squad fell to Galt 3-2 during the Pitman Tournament at the beginning of the season. He believes the Wolves are a very different team now.

“We’re a much more organized team now than we were then, especially in the back,” Pulido said. “We weren’t playing so well in the middle of the season, but something definitely clicked at the end. We had to win both games the last week of the season to make the playoffs, and we did.

“We’re a team that’s playing with a lot of confidence and don’t really care who we face right now.”

This story was originally published November 11, 2014 at 11:43 PM with the headline "Merced, Atwater and Livingston soccer teams not content with reaching the semis."