Atwater turns it on too late in semifinal soccer loss to Jesuit

It took three-quarters of the game, but the Atwater High School boys soccer team finally found its legs Wednesday afternoon.

Facing a four-goal deficit against one of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s most storied programs, coach Jimmy Brewer’s squad displayed the fight that drove the Falcons into the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinal in the first place.

Atwater began winning the 50-50 battles and started stringing together passes as it answered with the game’s two prettiest goals over an 11-minute span in the second half. Unfortunately, style points weren’t enough and Jesuit advanced to the championship with a 5-2 victory.

“I think everybody came out a little nervous,” senior midfielder Brandon Alvarez said. “Our passes weren’t connecting. We weren’t building anything up, and we didn’t have a lot of good first touches.

“We were happy coming back and showing what we can really do, but we needed to have more of that fire from the beginning.”

Field conditions didn’t help Atwater’s plight. The Jesuit pitch was soft and slick, with both teams routinely losing their footing when they’d kick or cut. Used to the pace of the Falcon Field turf, the Falcons also struggled with the weight of their passes, leading to several turnovers.

Even with the early nerves, Atwater (24-2-4) produced the game’s first great chance 20 minutes in. Omar Duran leaped for a ball driven to midfield, flicking it into the sprinting path of Eduardo Cebrero. The senior striker shielded off his defender and sprinted in on net one-on-one with Jesuit keeper Brendon Belluomini.

Belluomini made a sliding save to keep the game scoreless.

Jesuit (23-2-1) made the Falcons pay for the missed opportunity, scoring seven minutes later on a set piece.

Atwater did what it said it couldn’t do going into the game, committing a bad foul just outside the 18-yard box on the right wing. The Falcons were up to the task on the initial cross but didn’t head it clear. Gabe McEwen headed a ball back into the middle of the 18 that Nick Sogard flicked over a leaping Andrew Ulloa (four saves).

The Falcons were still reeling from the first goal when Jesuit struck again after a failed clearance. Atwater won a long throw-in into the 6-yard box but headed it directly to McEwen at the top of the 18. The senior trapped the ball with his chest and volleyed home a shot to make it 2-0.

“We didn’t play a very disciplined game, which is frustrating,” Brewer said. “We talked in practice about how on set pieces we had to defend not just the first ball but the flick or the second run as well. Their first two goals came directly from us not doing that.

“Even then, down 2-0, they weren’t doing a lot to give us trouble. The third goal right before the half was the one that really hurt.”

The Marauders caught Atwater throwing a few extra bodies forward after going down 2-0, and a long clearance put sweeper Alex Rios one-on-one with striker Colm McCullaugh. Rios won body positioning on the bouncing ball as he was trying to bring it under control when McCullaugh plowed through him from behind.

The referee let the play go, and McCullaugh finished his breakaway when a charging Ulloa lost his footing to make it 3-0 at the break.

Jesuit converted a corner kick 17 minutes into the second half to go up 4-0. With Atwater in desperate need of a spark, Alvarez answered the call. Christian Fuentes exited the game with a knee injury about 10 minutes into the opening half, leaving the Falcons in need of someone to possess the ball and run the show in the midfield.

Alvarez assumed that role for the final 25 minutes. He won back-to-back free kicks just outside the 18 with sheer tenacity in the 62nd minute, finishing the second with a laser from about 24 yards out to put Atwater on the board.

The rest of the team followed suit, scoring the goal of the game 11 minutes later.

Left back Ivan Rios made a great run out of the backfield, splitting two defenders with a pass to Christian Olguin into the 18 from the left wing. Olguin cut across the six and laid a ball off for Cebrero, who one-timed it in with a cheeky back heel.

It was as close as Atwater would get as a dropped ball by Ulloa in the final minute let Jesuit make it a 5-2 final.

“They do a good job of applying pressure and making you play faster than you want to, and we didn’t match that,” Rios said. “We didn’t close guys out like we usually do. We didn’t follow up a clear like we usually do. We got caught watching too much and spotted them a 4-0 lead.

“I’m proud of the way we finished the game. Getting a couple back makes you feel a little better, but it was just too late.”

This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 7:20 PM with the headline "Atwater turns it on too late in semifinal soccer loss to Jesuit."