SAN JOSE, CA - On a chilly Monday night, Bellarmine junior Uriel Morales scored in the 24th minute as host Bellarmine defeated St. Francis in a WCAL match.
Bellarmine started the stronger team from the outset creating several half chances and shots from distance, although nothing truly troubled the Lancer defense led by Abraham Ramirez and John Galbraith. The Bells became truly dangerous when they started getting the ball wide to their some of their most creative players, which resulted in the lone goal of the match. Senior Gabi Martinez, who was dangerous all night on the left wing, found fellow winger Uriel Morales who calmly beat his defender and found the back post to put the Bells up front.
The second half started the same way the first half ended, with Bellarmine dominating the possession. A couple of half chances for Bellarmine kept St. Francis in the game and the Lancers started to become truly dangerous when James Garlick returned to the lineup after having to get subbed in the first half for an apparent ankle injury. Garlick started to connect with Rory Forlan, the Lancers leading scorer on the season with four league goals already this season, which started to put the Bellarmine defense on its heels.
Two free kicks towards the end of the game for St. Francis which proved to be their best scoring chances of the game, including the final one in injury time which was cleared off the line bravely by Bellarmine's Tate Hackett which broke Lancer hearts.
