Benicia High School boys soccer coach Armando Martinez said he would put his back line against any in the Diablo Athletic League.
That’s saying something considering that the conference is stacked with talented players like pancakes are piled up at IHOP.
The Panthers’ defense was up to the challenge on Wednesday afternoon at Drolette Stadium, keeping the game within striking distance for about 73 minutes. Despite that effort, the Broncos pulled away for a 3-1 win.
“Defensively, we can compete with anyone,” Martinez said. “As far as us getting upfield, that’s where we kind of lack offensively, but I would take my back line and my defensive center-mid over any of these teams. I have so much faith in them as far as their abilities.”
The Panthers (4-6-3, 3-4-1) made it 2-1 in the 72nd minute when sophomore Lucas Otanez pushed it past goalkeeper Stefano Padoann on the left side of the net on a penalty kick. That was set up when Wyatt Fry was taken down in the penalty area.
Martinez said Otanez doesn’t take all of Benicia’s penalty shots.
“It kind of depends on who wants to,” he said. “I want to give them a little bit more responsibility. I heard our captain (Michael) McBride call him. We have a couple of people who can take penalty kicks but we haven’t had that many.”
Unfortunately for the Panthers, Northgate (6-4-3, 3-3-2) iced the win in the very next minute on Felipe Ognian’s goal. Ognian’s initial shot was blocked by Benicia goalkeeper Owen Sherry, but Ognian scored on the rebound.
Sherry made a number of impressive saves in the first half of the contest to keep the deficit 1-0.
“He’s only a freshman so you have to give him credit for that,” Martinez said. “He’s still young and made a couple of mistakes but no one on the field was perfect tonight so it’s going to happen. He’s going to learn from it obviously. He’s shown a lot for us his freshman year.”
Northgate led 1-0 in the eighth minute on its own penalty kick as Nathaniel Walker nailed the right side of the net.
That’s the way it would stay even though the Cougars had a number of impressive shots on goal, including one from Ognian in the 37th minute that was stopped by Sherry.
The Panthers did not have nearly as many chances in the first half, but Raymond Strychaz had a nice shot from the top of the penalty area in the 37th minute as Padoann dove and pushed the ball out of the way.
Benicia was more aggressive offensively in the second half as the Panthers came out passing in the opening minutes. The Cougars finally made it a 2-0 game in the 56th minute on a
Carlos Villarta Viana goal.
The Panthers had a chance in the 78th minute when Nico Sanchez sent a ball to Fry in the box. Northgate pushed it out of bounds, leading to a Benicia corner kick. That led to a point-blank attempt from McBride that hit the cross bar. Benicia, unfortunately, wasn’t able to convert on that opportunity.
Despite the loss, Martinez was proud how his team fought back in the second half.
“Toward the end our center-back (McBride), I pushed him up and his intensity shows on the defensive and offensive end,” he said. “Wherever I put him, he’s going to up our play.”
Video of Benicia and Northgate boys soccer pic.twitter.com/rU3N3G9T3b
— Matt O'Donnell (@modonnellVTH) January 30, 2020
The score
Northgate 3, Benicia 1
Next game: Friday at Clayton Valley: 7 p.m.
2020-01-30 06:54:19Z
https://www.timesheraldonline.com/benicia-high-school-boys-soccer-team-cant-hold-off-northgate
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