Duran goal pushes Atwater boys into soccer section semifinals

While his teammates set up for a corner kick, Omar Duran walked over and exchanged a quick high-five with Lincoln-Stockton goalkeeper Johan Garibay.

It was a show of respect the sophomore had earned from the Atwater soccer team on Thursday night.

While there was never any doubt about Tuesday’s opening-round victory over Gregori, Atwater took the Falcon Field turf for Thursday’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division I quarterfinal with the crispness it lacked two days prior. Ironically, it made far less impact in the scoreline thanks to Garibay.

The Trojans keeper made 11 saves but came up empty on Duran’s flick off a corner kick in the 11th minute. The Falcons’ defense made the goal stand up, not allowing a shot on goal for the second straight game as Atwater advanced to the semifinals for the second straight year with a 1-0 victory over Lincoln.

The third-seeded Falcons will travel to No. 2 Jesuit on Wednesday in a rematch of a nonconference game two weeks ago, a 3-0 Jesuit win.

“The scouting report we had coming in was they were a lot like Vintage last year,” Atwater coach Jimmy Brewer said. “Good goalkeeper, really good defense and then one big guy up top.

“I was much more impressed with their goalkeeper than his defense. Any lack of brilliance they had, he more than made up for. And it kept things intense. We got the early goal, but he just kept them in the game until the very end, making saves most high school kids don’t make.”

Atwater (24-1-4) wasted no time jumping out in front Thursday, scoring on a corner kick to the near post for the second straight game.

It was among the Falcons’ least dangerous looking plays of the night, but Duran made the most of it. The senior ran on to an Alex Rios corner kick and got enough of a flick to redirect the ball into the far post.

“I just had a feeling that Alex was going to serve one to the front post, so that’s where I made my run,” Duran said. “I was just able to get it with the back of my heel. I couldn’t see where it had gone at first, but then I saw it bounce in and I just started sprinting I was so happy.”

The early goal just added fuel to an already well-stoked fire as Atwater threatened to break the game open with a dominating opening 40 minutes. The Falcons outshot Lincoln (19-3-2) 13-1 in the first half and 26-5 in the game.

The Trojans hadn’t lost a game since a 1-0 defeat to Merced at the end of August, and Garibay was a big reason. The sophomore was quick enough and anticipated well enough to win footraces on balls played over the top. He was long and athletic enough to deny shots headed for the top corners.

Garibay had his two best saves in the second half, denying Eduardo Cebrero with a reaction save inside the six-yard box in the 55th minute. Christian Olguin was robbed about 10 minutes later when his laser was pushed just over the bar with a leaping save.

“(Garibay) was amazing. We have nothing but respect for him,” Duran said. “He needed to be, because we were ready to play. We had much more focus than Tuesday. Our passes were where they needed to be and our communication was 100 times better.

“It was intense, though, as the game went on and we couldn’t get another. The last five minutes I was nervous because they had a pretty good counterattack and they finally got some looks.”

Lincoln 6-foot-3 point man Joshua Clement gave the Atwater defense some trouble on long throw-ins and set pieces, seemingly winning every ball in the air. He couldn’t get anything on frame, however, as Falcons keeper Andrew Ulloa posted his second straight shutout without making a save.

Livingston 2, Sierra 1 (2 OT) in Livingston – The Wolves (14-5-2) reached the Division IV semifinals for the second straight season thanks to an overtime own goal and seven saves from Marco Sobrevilla.

Sierra struck first, but a Enrique Medina goal leveled things at 1-1 going into the half. Livingston will travel to No. 2 Galt on Wednesday.

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 10:51 PM with the headline "Duran goal pushes Atwater boys into soccer section semifinals."