Boys soccer secures key district victory

By JUAN ESTEVE
Special to the NEWS

Making moves
Pictured is Adrian Martinez (#9) as he struggles against a Hannah player to recapture the ball.
(Staff photo by David Lopez)

The San Benito Boys Varsity Soccer team played host to the always ferocious Hanna Golden Eagles from Brownsville on Tuesday night at the Bobby Morrow Stadium. The home-team emerged with a critical victory in district play through Penalty Kicks (3-3 tie and 5-4 in PKs). Now the Mighty ’Hounds make their district record even at (4-4) and 17-18-1 overall with Hanna being ahead in the district by (5-4).

After they tied 2-2 after the initial 80 minutes, both teams headed to overtime, and it was Hanna that went up first with a cross-shot on the left side of the field from about six yards. Then it was Greyhound Cristian Castillo (#16) who tied the score to 3-3 with a shot from nearly outside the box from about 15 yards, all in the overtime. It looked like Hanna would take the victory after they took the lead on an excellent executed Free-kick from about 18 yards by Luis Guajardo (#14). But San Benito kept fighting, and Cristian Castillo found a cross-shot to tie the score and send the game to penalties.

Although this match seemed to be more exciting after the first initial 80 minutes, that wasn’t the case at all: San Benito gave us some nice plays during the whole game. In total, they had about 12 shots on target, and they made the Hanna goalie aware of the ’Hounds’ offensive strength.

In the second OT, neither teams were able to do much damage, leading to the Penalty Kicks. The hero, in the end, was San Benito goalie Jared Cerdan(#1), who saved two shots to secure the win against a rival that was a victory ahead of the Greyhounds in the district 32-6A standings.

San Benito now heads off to visit the unpredictable Rivera Raiders for Friday night “Futbol” on March 6th in Brownsville.

Editor’s note: This article has been edited for length. To read the full story, click here or make sure to grab a copy of the March 6 –12, 2020 issue of the NEWS.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2020/03/05/boys-soccer-secures-key-district-victory/

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