Things were going pretty well for the San Marcos during the first 55 minutes of Wednesday’s Channel League boys soccer crosstown match against Santa Barbara High.
The Royals were controlling the run of play but they had only one goal to show for it. They withstood a furious comeback attempt by the Dons over the remaining 25 minutes and escaped Peabody Stadium with a 2-1 victory to sweep the season series and remain atop the league standings.
Sergio Ramirez finished a feed from Alex Gallardo for San Marcos’ first-half goal in the 28th minute and Luis Campos provided the eventual game-winner in the 74th minute, rising above everybody to head in Wesley Monroy’s corner kick.
The flow of the match changed after Santa Barbara’s head coach and the bench were booked with yellow cards in the 58th minute. At that point, the Dons picked up the intensity and fought to get back in the game. They made it a one-goal game in the 77th minute after a foul was called against the Royals in the penalty area. Pablo Desales converted the penalty kick, ending San Marcos’ shot at a fourth straight shutout.
The Dons kept the pressure on and created an opportunity at scoring an equalizer in the waning moments. They hit a long free kick into the box and during the scramble for possession got two whacks at the ball. Santa Barbara players raised their hands to signal a hand-ball violation but there was no call by the referee.
Santa Barbara created one last chance, sending a bouncing ball toward the goal. In a footrace for the ball, San Marcos goalkeeper Issac Urrutia beat the Dons’ Irving Garcia and Desales and scooped it up just before the final whistle.
In winning its fourth straight match, San Marcos improves to 6-1-1 in league and 8-3-1 overall; Santa Barbara falls to 3-5-0 and 6-7-1.
Santa Barbara coach Ricardo Alcaraz pointed to the first half as the difference in the match.
“They were just on it,” he said of the Royals. “They came out firing, they came out wanting it more in the first half. They were really more intense and we couldn’t match that intensity in the first half.
“We did match it in the second half. In the second half, I thought we were the better team. Halftime we made adjustments and the adjustments were right. I thought we were going to pull off at least a tie but the ball didn’t bounce our way.”
Asked about the team stepping up after the yellow cards, Alcaraz said, “Whatever it takes. It could be as simple as a foul, as simple as winning a header. You hear the crowd. When you win a header, it fires everybody up and it just fires up the team. In the first half, they were winning the first balls and the second balls and it just fired them up and we couldn’t respond to that until the second half.”
San Marcos’ relentless attack kept Santa Barbara goalkeeper Tadeo Lopez busy in the first 25 minutes. The Royals broke through in the 28th, with Erik Torres sending Gallardo on a fast break. Gallardo laid the ball off to Ramirez for a blast from 22 yards.
“It was off of Erik,” said Gallardo. “He was receiving the ball and he just laid it off to me and I saw Sergio. I passed to him and let him do his thing and he scored.”
San Marcos coach Paul McLean was happy to see Ramirez’s hard work in practice pay off.
I was really pleased to see Sergio’s ball go in because he’s been working on shooting from range. It’s fun to see him create something like that.”
Gallardo played a big role in the Royals’ win.
“He was excellent all game,” said McLean. “He distributed the ball really well and won a lot of really important tackles for us. That brings so much energy and passion for the boys to get in good tackles like that. He was important for us.”
On Campos’ header for the game-winner, McLean said the senior forward “used all his athleticism” to soar above the crowd and finish the play. “He had some serious height to connect that ball. It was a beautiful goal.”
The Royals now turn their attention to Oxnard for a first-place showdown on Friday at Warkentin Stadium. The teams played to a scoreless draw in their first meeting.
