Atwater soccer all business in Sac-Joaquin Section playoff opener
Jimmy Brewer couldn’t help but laugh at the difference.
The nerves that plagued his Atwater High School boys soccer team a year ago in their first-round playoff game were nowhere to be seen on the Falcon Field turf Tuesday night.
The now-veteran Falcons dispatched Gregori 3-0 in business-like fashion, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs. Atwater dissected the Jaguars with its patented passing game and rarely let anything through on the defensive end. The Falcons outshot Gregori 25-2 and didn’t allow a shot on goal in a dominant effort.
No. 3 Atwater will host No. 6 Lincoln, which defeated Franklin-Elk Grove 2-0, on Thursday. Brewer said he’s hoping for another 6:30 p.m. start.
“It was quite a bit different than last year,” Brewer said. “We played with a confidence and a patience that we definitely didn’t have a year ago. Even though it took a little while to get that first goal, it wasn’t, ‘Are we going to get one?’ It was, ‘We’re going to get one.’
“I was very pleased with the way we started the game and didn’t ever really let them build some confidence.”
Atwater (23-1-4) controlled the game from the opening whistle but struggled to connect in the final third initially.
The Falcons produced plenty of shots but failed to get anything past Gregori goalkeeper Edgar Hermosillo (11 saves) in the opening 20 minutes. As Brewer so often has done throughout the season, he turned to his bench for a spark.
Emile Bado answered the call in the 23rd minute. Brandon Alvarez sent an in-swinging cross toward the near post, and Bado was the first to reach it, redirecting a header through a mass of bodies and into the far post to make it 1-0.
“Brandon loves to play the ball at the first post, so I just made my run and saw it was coming to me,” Bado said. “I knew I headed it pretty well, but I couldn’t see the ball through all the people. It wasn’t until my teammate started yelling at me that I knew it went in.
“Getting the first goal took a lot of pressure off of us. We came in knowing what to expect this year, but I think we played a lot looser after that.”
Zeb Stevens provided a dagger to Gregori (11-8-3), doubling Atwater’s lead just before the break.
Alex Rios and Jesus Garcia worked a quick set piece from about 30 yards out with Rios leading Garcia toward goal with a pass. Garcia’s touch was slightly too heavy, taking him into a Jaguars defender at the top of the 18-yard box. Instead of trying to force a shot, Garcia quickly toed the ball into the 18. Stevens one-timed the ball in from just outside the 6 in the 40th minute to make it 2-0 at intermission.
After making Gregori chase the ball for the bulk of the opening half, Brewer felt Atwater got a little impatient looking for the knockout punch in the second half.
The Falcons still produced 15 shots after the break but weren’t nearly as crisp with their passing. It contributed to not finishing the Jaguars until the 72nd minute, but Jonathan Escobedo made the wait worthwhile. The senior drilled a free kick from 34 yards out about as well as one can, launching a laser into the upper 90 of the far post.
“We didn’t communicate real well tonight,” Brewer said. “We had a bunch of runs that didn’t receive a ball or served balls to guys that didn’t make the run. It’s something we definitely have to clean up moving forward, but you can only complain so much about a 3-0 win.”
Tracy 3, Golden Valley 0 in Tracy – The ninth-seeded Cougars went down 2-0 at halftime and couldn’t recover in a Division II loss to the Bulldogs.
Cosumnes Oaks 1, Merced 0 in Elk Grove – Ethan Krebs scored in the first 10 minutes, and the No. 3 Wolfpack made it stand, gaining revenge after the Bears, seeded 14th this season, knocked Cosumnes Oaks out of the Division II semifinals a year ago.
Dixon 2, Pacheco 2 (Dixon 4-2 PKs) in Los Banos – Brian Nevarez scored two goals for the Panthers, but Dixon tied the score with three minutes to play and outlasted Pacheco in penalty kicks.
Thursday’s games
Five local teams remain alive in the playoffs, including Atwater. No. 3 Livingston will host No. 6 Sierra in a Division IV quarterfinal at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the football stadium. Division VI No. 3 Gustine hosts No. 6 Bradshaw Christian at 6:30. Division VI No. 1 Hilmar hosts No. 8 Millennium at 3 p.m., and Division V No. 7 Delhi travels to No. 2 Escalon at 3.
This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 10:23 PM with the headline "Atwater soccer all business in Sac-Joaquin Section playoff opener."