Munoz’s late goal denies Merced CCC crown again

As madness ensued within the 18-yard-box just a few feet away, Amenah Munoz did her best to stay patient.

A 72nd-minute corner kick fell into a mass of bodies within the Merced box, with no one able to get a solid piece of it for 15 to 20 seconds. Bodies were knocked all over the Veterans Stadium turf as the Bears fought desperately to clear and keep their Central California Conference title hopes alive.

Having already clinched their playoff spot earlier in the day thanks to a Turlock loss, an unburdened Cougar squad just as tenaciously went after the loose ball. After four or five good whacks in the scrum, the ball kicked to Munoz at the back post. She immediately one-timed a shot into the top of the goal, setting off a wild celebration.

Munoz’s goal would prove the difference as Golden Valley pulled out 1-0 victory, denying Merced the league title with a late goal for the second straight year. Pitman’s 2-0 victory coupled with the Bear loss earned the Pride the crown by a single point.

“I knew the garbage was going to kick out my way if I just waited,” Munoz said. “I was just trying to be patient and then went as soon as it came my way. I knew everybody was going to be charging at me, so I was thinking just place it in the upper 90 the whole way.

“As soon as it went in my entire team was on me celebrating. It was a great moment.”

Heartbreaking as Merced (10-11-3, 10-2-3 CCC) coming up just short of its first CCC crown in school history for the third straight year was, the Cougars (14-3-6, 8-3-4) more than deserved the result. GV doubled up Merced’s shots and quality scoring chances.

The Bears had to fight out a grueling victory over Pitman in the heat on Tuesday and looked like they never fully had their legs back under them. Merced opened the game with the better run of play and Carris Burges had her 10th-minute header just turned aside by a diving stop from GV goalkeeper Kristina Manilay (three saves).

The Cougars settled in after the opening 15 minutes, however, and the field took a decided tilt towards the Bear net for the rest of the half. Brittany Cervantes almost opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, but the senior drilled a header off of the crossbar to keep it scoreless at the break.

“I think knowing that our playoff status was already locked up took some of the weight off of our shoulders coming in, but we still approached this one as a playoff game,” Cougars coach Lance Eber said. “This was the first time this year I really tweaked my formation after the first sub. We just wanted to show them something different and not be too predictable.”

Perhaps sensing it didn’t have its top form, Merced went more into a defensive shell in the second half, rarely sending more than a handful of bodies forward.

The Bear back line and goalkeeper Emma Lopez (four saves) stood strong for 70-plus minutes, but finally yielded one to Munoz in the 72nd minute.

“They just didn’t play the same way we did on Tuesday,” Merced coach Megan Atoigue said. “I don’t know why. I don’t know if we came in overconfident or if we were just tired, but the energy was never there.

“When it became obvious that we weren’t generating anything offensively in the second half, we started playing for the tie and it cost us.”

This story was originally published May 5, 2016 at 10:11 PM with the headline "Munoz’s late goal denies Merced CCC crown again."