Rough PK brings Atwater boys soccer season to an end

The Atwater High School boys soccer team appeared to have Vintage exactly where it wanted it Wednesday night.

The Falcons’ pace up top forced the Crushers into a defensive posture and left them content to try to counter. With Atwater sweeper Alex Rios returning from an ankle injury that kept him out of the first two playoff games, the tactic played right into the Falcons’ hands as they dictated the second half.

It all changed on one unlucky bounce in the 61st minute when Atwater defender Jesus Garcia was called for a hand ball on the left outskirts of the penalty area. Vintage’s Jesus Ochoa converted the spot kick to put the Crushers through to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship game with a 1-0 victory at Falcon Field.

Fourth-seeded Vintage (18-1-3) will take on No. 6 Merced, which defeated Cosumnes Oaks 2-1 in overtime in the other D-II semifinal, in Saturday’s section title game.

Atwater (24-3-3) is going to have a tough time swallowing that it won’t be the team squaring off against the rival Bears. The penalty kick was Vintage’s only shot of the second half and it came on a non-scoring opportunity.

The Falcons’ defense allowed a long clearance to bounce in front of their 18-yard box that Ochoa was the first to react to. The big striker tried to head his way through three defenders but ended up deflecting the ball toward the left corner of the 18. Garcia won body position on the much bigger Ochoa and was shielding him while trying the clear the ball when it bounced up and glanced off his arm.

“That’s a rough way to give one up,” Falcons coach Jimmy Brewer said. “We have possession. The ball isn’t in front of the goal and (Garcia is) being jostled by the other kid. That’s a pretty tough call to make in a game that tight.

“I thought we did a better job of trying to build up our attack in the second half and we took control of the game. The one thing we didn’t do a great job of was trying to get their goalkeeper out of position. With his big frame, if you let him just make saves from the goal line, he’s going to be tough to beat.”

While Ochoa provided the game winner, it was goalkeeper Danny Villalpando’s performance that saw Vintage through to the final. The lanky senior made six saves, the biggest of which came in the 51st minute.

Atwater striker Eduardo Cebrero chased down a ball on the left wing and beat the Crushers’ sweeper with a quick touch. Cebrero sprinted in on net but was turned away by a diving stop.

The Falcons out shot Vintage 5-1 in the second halfto no avail.

“All they had against us was the counter, and they couldn’t challenge me with it,” said Atwater goalkeeper Mario Chavez, who had two saves. “The first half was a really tight game and we knew the first team to score was probably going to win. The ref made a call and there was nothing we could do about it.”

Livingston 2, Galt 0, at Galt – The Livingston soccer team continued its run of late heroics as Rolando Rodriguez scored a pair of goals in the last eight minutes to push the Wolves through to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV title game.

Rodriguez’s goals came on the heels of goalkeeper David Solario (eight saves) turning away a penalty kick. Livingston will face Weston Ranch in Saturday’s title game at Stagg High. The opening whistle is set for 2 p.m.

This story was originally published November 12, 2014 at 11:01 PM with the headline "Rough PK brings Atwater boys soccer season to an end."