Leigh's Salem Lee should have been easy to spot, racing ahead of the others much of the game with his blond Mohawk haircut shining in the afternoon sun.
But rival Branham lost track of the junior that teammates call "the Bird" because of his quickness, and it cost the visiting Bruins in a 1-0 defeat.
The setback came Wednesday in a Central Coast Section first-round boys soccer game. The season is now finished for Branham, while Leigh advances to meet Westmont on Saturday in the quarterfinals.
The game's only goal came in the 64th minute when a rebound bounced right to Lee and he left-footed it into the net. The slightly-built Longhorn was then mobbed by teammates.
"My teammates worked hard to get it in there and I got a lucky bounce and the ball came right to me," Lee said. "I just finished it with my left. That was my first goal of the season so I was pumped up after I got it."
Lee had no goals coming in, but Branham coach Danny Kadah was aware of him.
"He's very quick and he's shifty," Kadah said. "He has a lot of energy and he's a great player. He buzzes around quite a bit and it wasn't by accident that he wound up in the right place at the right time."
Lee, after his goal, was really amped. Five minutes later, he sprinted ahead of a Branham defender, took a perfect pass and just missed another goal, as he banged one off the post from the right side after being whistled just a fraction offside.
It was a temporary disappointment for Leigh, but not costly as Branham did not seriously threaten to score in the final 14 minutes of the tightly contested game.
Branham players afterward exchanged hugs with Kadah as they saw their seasons -- and in some cases prep careers -- end.
"We're just so proud of these guys," Kadah said. "Like I told the guys afterward, the toughest part of this is having to say goodbye. We had a nice (pasta) party last night and these guys just got along so well. That's the hard part -- the finality of it all."
Branham midfielder Jason Chiorean injured his back last season and sat out. He returned this season, and is glad he did.
"(These were) two evenly matched teams," Chiorean said. "We both fought and we both pressed and we both left it all out there. It all came down to, in the end, one moment of class (Lee's goal). It was a good goal, and that's just how it happens."
Regarding his career, Chiorean said: "These were some of the best times I've had playing soccer. I thought I'd just come out again this year and give it a go again and it turned out to be a much better season than I thought. These are some of the memories I'll have of high school. I won't forget any of this."
Leigh dominated play early in the game until Branham found its footing. The Longhorns' Logan McNerney had a golden opportunity in the 11th minute to score, but pushed his shot to the left of the goal.
Branham (11-6-4), in the 15th minute, had its own sterling chance, but Chiorean's header from point blank sailed over the goal.
That's the way it went for all of the first half and more than 20 minutes of the second half until Lee connected.
"Branham had a very hard defense to break apart," Leigh coach Frank von Rassler said. "They're very solid in the back. What we waited for was just an opportunity. We had a couple of guys crashing the net -- No. 9 (Trevor Kaefer) and No. 17 (Lee) and No. 17 put it in."
Von Rassler said the fact Branham is an intra-district rival made the victory all the more sweet.
"Every time we play them it's special," he said. "A lot of these guys know each other and play on the same club teams together. There's a lot of familiarity there. It was a spirited contest and I'm just happy with the result."
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John Murphy can be reached at jmurphy@Prep2Prep.com.
