It is never a boring match when crosstown rivals Dos Pueblos and San Marcos meet, and Thursday night was no exception, as the Charger boys soccer team scored a chaotic goal in the final five minutes on Senior Night to seal a 1-1 tie at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
With the tie, the Chargers kept their season alive as they look to secure an at-large bid with an overall mark of 7-8-7 and a league record of 3-6-4. San Marcos, which has a playoff spot locked up, holds an overall mark of 10-5-2 and a Channel League record of 8-3-2.
San Marcos held the momentum throughout, outshooting Dos Pueblos 14-6 with multiple looks on goal. But the Chargers remained persistent despite trailing 1-0 after giving up a goal in the 54th minute.
In the 75th, the home team finally answered, as a corner kick from junior Chris Barreto bounced around the box until Charger junior forward Johnny Duffy put it away to level the score.
“We are fighting to get one more win to have a chance at an at-large potential, so they knew we needed that goal just to keep our season alive,” Dos Pueblos coach Oscar Garcia told Noozhawk.
“We haven’t really had much success against San Marcos over the last few years; they are the powerhouse in town the last few years, I would say, so getting a result tonight feels like a win.”
Garcia added that Duffy, who scored the game-tying goal, has been battling a nagging injury but asked to be put back in late in the second half.
“That’s the emotion you see on Senior Night,” Garcia said.
Chargers senior defender Andrew Gomez said the emotions of seeing everyone in the stands “was a different type of motivation.”
“We wanted to win, but a tie works, so it still felt good,” he said.
In regard to the scoring play, Gomez said, “In the moment you don’t believe it, but once you see everyone running and cheering, you just get this amazing adrenaline rush.”
San Marcos did not go gently into that good night, however. In the final five minutes, the Royals created a slew of scoring opportunities, including a golden moment in the 78th minute.
San Marcos junior forward Ricardo Olivo got a wonderful through ball in the final third of the field and dashed past the Chargers’ defense, looking like he would have a one-on-one chance with the keeper.
Olivo was tackled and the ball rolled out of bounds, but he and the rest of the San Marcos bench were looking for a call from the refs that would’ve awarded the Royals a penalty, but it never came. The game ended after the Royals failed to connect on the ensuing corner.
“I think we created so many chances even after they scored that we should have found the go-ahead goal. We didn’t tonight, but that’s okay,” said San Marcos coach Paul McLean.
“[Dos Pueblos] played hard until the end. They did a great job continuing to push for a goal, so full credit to them.”
The Royals’ only goal of the contest came off an impressive play. Senior forward Daniel Bibiano made a fantastic run and then an unselfish play, passing it off to Olivo, who was left one-on-one with the keeper and beat him to take the early advantage.
“Our last two games before this one, we’ve been finding a better rhythm offensively, and our defense was excellent, so I think a return to that will help us,” McLean said.
“I think we’re getting better and better, so I’m confident that in the Buena game, we will do our job and get to the playoffs.”
Dos Pueblos will play at Oxnard on Tuesday to close out the season, while San Marcos plays at Buena on Tuesday.