San Marcos and Cate played to a 3-3 tie in an entertaining non-league boys soccer game on Tuesday at Warkentin Stadium
Freshman Levi Sheffey scored an unassisted goal in the 80th minute to tie the match for the Royals.
“Levi Sheffey had a great game, only playing 20 minutes and scoring twice,” San Marcos coach Daniel Torres said. “He was rewarded for the commitment he’s had in training.”
Sheffey scored his first goal in the 37th minute off an assist from Tony Garcia.
Cate equalized two minutes later when senior Christian Herman shaped a beautiful free kick around the Royals’ wall from 22 yards out that found the lower left corner.
“The boys played a great first half in a highly entertaining game. We created a number of chances in the first half but couldn’t convert,” said Torres.
Cate goalkeeper Cullen Barber had something to do with that. He played an outstanding game, coming up with 13 saves.
San Marcos pressed the action early in the second half and earned penalty kick. Jonas Romero converted for a 2-1 lead.
The Royals did a good job possessing the ball, “but Cate made us pay for our mistakes,” Torres said. “They are very fast on the counter and we weren’t able to contain them.”
In the 62nd minute, senior Juan Magalhaes broke free on goal and slid a ball across to freshman Buba Fofanah who finished from six yards out to even the score at 2-2. Eleven minutes later, Magalhaes found room on the right flank again and ripped a low cross in front of the San Marcos goal that sophomore Bailor Jalloh one-timed into the back of the net for a 3-2 Cate lead.
“Despite being disorganized on both sides of the ball for much of the match, we had moments of superb creativity in our counter-attack. And as the game wore on, we seemed to play with more and more energy,” said Cate coach Peter Mack.
In the final minute, Sheffey pounced on a deflected ball, broke in on goal and scored the tying goal.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.