Luis Campos delivered a cool senior moment for himself and the San Marcos boys soccer team in Tuesday night’s Channel League opener against crosstown rival Santa Barbara High.
Campos scored the game-tying and winning goals in the second half, lifting the Royals to a 3-2 victory at Warkentin Stadium for their fifth straight win over the Dons.
Campos knotted the score at 2-2 two minutes after Juan Culebro put Santa Barbara into the lead in the 49th minute.
On the game winner, he fielded a crossing ball from Yael Solano on a two-on-one break and beat the goalkeeper in the 79th minute.
“I was a little around the 30 (yard line) and I saw my teammate Yael make a run, making sure he wasn’t offside (on a long ball),” said Campos of play. “I started running once I saw it. Thankfully, he saw me open and he crossed it over to me and, thankfully, I finished it.”
Campos finished a free kick from Wesley Monroy to tie the score.
“That one I was little worried about,” he said. “There was a foul on the 30, my teammate and captain Wes crossed it in. There were two players in front of me; I was scared I wasn’t going to get to the ball, put a foot in, hoped for the best and it went in.”
The fact the goals came against Santa Barbara made them extra special for Campos.
“Senior year, it feels amazing,” he said. “It’s the last time I play them here at home.”
San Marcos coach Paul McLean has come to expect those kind of performances from Campos
“He’s showing his strength and has been all season long,” said McLean. “We’re just getting rolling and he’s a huge part of our team. He holds the ball so well, he has speed and his finishing touch is sharpening, too.”
Santa Barbara created a few early scoring chances but it was San Marcos that got on the board first. In the 18th minute, Solano hit a corner kick to the top of the six-yard box and the ball was knocked around in a scrum in front of Dons’ goalkeeper Tadeo Lopez. Robert Rosales of the Royals poked it in, even though Lopez came out of the crowd holding the ball.
“According to my goalie, the ball never crossed the line,” said Santa Barbara coach Ricardo Alcaraz. “He had the ball, hands out, like what a goalie normally would do.”
Lopez made a diving size on a big shot from the Royals’ Sergio Ramirez in the 26th minute.
The Dons responded five minutes later with the equalizing goal.
San Marcos goalkeeper Omar Solis-Guerrero reached back to knock away a header by Barbaro Cadena, but Earl Manamea cashed in on the rebound to make 1-1.
The Dons took a 2-1 lead early in the second half on a spectacular shot by Culebro just inside the right post.
Alcaraz was pleased how his team fought back from the early deficit.
“It shows what our team is made of, to be down 1-0 and keep calm, (we’re playing) away, first league game, rivalry game, to fight back and be up 2-1,” he said. “But, again, we got to stay strong and preserve that 2-1 win.”
Alcaraz felt couple of breaks went against his team. He thought an offsides should have been called on San Marcos’ game-winning goal.
“I told my guys we got to take of business on the field and not let games be decided by moments like that,” he said. “It’s unfortunate it wasn’t called offsides but it is what it is. These are the games, especially at this place where games are very direct, they’re very physical, not very much good soccer. And it’s whoever wants it more and, in this case, in my personal opinion, whoever gets that lucky bounce, or that lucky call. Unfortunately it wasn’t on our end today.
“They took advantage of that moment and we didn’t.”
Asked about the play on Campos’ game winner, McLean said: “It certainly could have been (offsides), there were players all over on that play. I know Yael made a great play by playing the ball exactly where he should and Luis finished it well.”
San Marcos is now 3-2 on the season and Santa Barbara 3-2-1.