SAN JOSE – With the Archbishop Mitty Monarchs looking to keep their league win streak alive, it was up to the visiting St. Francis Lancers to ruin their fun.
With the game tied at one goal apiece mid-way through the second half, senior defender Justin Boetius of the Lancers received a cross from a set piece outside of the box. With the ball at his feet and space inside the box, Boetius put the ball into the bottom right corner of the net to secure the lead and produce the game-winning goal in a 2-1 St. Francis victory.
The Lancers moved to 2-0-1 in league play (4-1-3 overall), and it ends Mitty’s four-game league win streak. The Monarchs move to 4-0-2 (5-4-3) on the season.
The Lancers started the match well, being able to score just 15 minutes after kickoff, after a few fortunate bounces inside Mitty’s box helped Matt Keeth earn the goal.
Both teams played excellent defense throughout the first half, with St. Francis’s chance inside the box securing their one goal lead going into intermission.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Thomas Silvas, head coach of the Lancers. “Mitty was on a good streak and we knew we had to stay focused. I thought my boys worked hard, we’ve been working on our fitness a lot. We had been off to a good start too, so I knew we had a good chance to earn a win today.”
Mitty was able to strike back 16 minutes into the second half, coming off a perfect cross from a corner kick by junior captain Makena Pendleton. Pendleton sent in the ball and the big body of defender David Tenorio came in near the goal line and finished off the cross by heading it off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net.
“Even though we were down going into the second half our game plan was the same,” said Mitty coach Caesar Sanchez. “We needed the put the ball on the ground and keep possession. St. Francis is very physical and good in the air, and we made sure to not let them earn many throw-ins or corner kicks, which they are very good at.”
Multiple yellow cards were given throughout the match, as the physicality of play grew by the minute. Two were given to each side, and that’s not including one granted to Silvas, which came after the final whistle was blown (he was upset with the allotted extra time the ref allowed at the end of the game). Plenty of pushing and shoving was seen wherever the ball was, and each team found it difficult to maintain possession at any given moment. However, the Lancers still managed to sneak in the game-winning goal, in the midst of back and forth battling, as they found it through one of their specialties -- a set piece outside the box.
“It was a team effort; it wasn’t just one guy that stepped up for us tonight,” Silvas said. “Mitty had a good game plan. They pushed guys up at random times, which caught us off guard. Overall it was a tough, physical game, but we found what we needed at the right time and were able to earn the victory.”
St. Francis is at Riordan at 11 a.m. Saturday, while Mitty is at Sacred Heart Cathedral at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
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