BRENTWOOD, Calif. - Looking for its first win of the season on a crisp and foggy Saturday afternoon, Heritage got a much-needed insurance goal from junior Clayton Yi with 19 minutes remaining in its match against visiting Amador Valley, and then held off the Dons for a 2-1 victory in non-league action.
Yi took his shot at the goal from roughly 35 yards away and the Patriots holding onto a 1-0 lead which had been established in the first 10 minutes of the match. The junior captain took a feed from Jacob Heisner, and unleashed an open look at the goal, providing a goal which became necessary in the final five minutes, when Amador Valley was able to finally get on the board.
"We have been telling the kids all year to take open shots, that we have confidence in their shooting ability," said Heritage coach Chris Bonnie. "I was very proud of Clayton when he took that shot, and I knew he had it in him even though he was over 30 yards away from the goal."
Heritage (1-6-1) took an early lead in the match when Heisner connected with Bruk Abraha on a break-away past the middle of the Dons' defense. While an Amador Valley defender looked for an offsides call, Abraha neatly placed the ball to the left of the keeper, a big moment for a player who missed all of last season with a leg injury. The Dons came back quickly, however, and created some controversy near the Heritage goal.
Playing without senior standout and leading scorer Ben Wold, Amador Valley (3-4-1) needed a spark from elsewhere on its roster, and nearly got that from Josh Wilner. Wilner played a loose ball past Heritage keeper Gavin Gillan, and then had a seemingly open look at the Patriots' net. As the ball took a high bounce, Wilner played it perfectly off his head and towards the net. At the same time, Heisner recovered defensively for Heritage, and deflected the ball back away from the goal with a bicycle kick from directly below the crossbar.
As the Patriots recovered defensively to clear the ball and get it out of bounds, Wilner and the other Amador Valley players tried to make a futile argument that the ball had crossed into the goal before getting cleared by Heisner.
"Jacob is a very, very smart soccer player, very knowledgeable of the game and what needs to be accomplished," Bonnie said. "He has heart and I could tell that he wanted to do what it took to get our first win."
The rest of the first half was played evenly by both sides, as both keepers corralled balls that came towards the net, but without a clear threat for either offense. That continued for the first part of the second half, until Yi delivered from long range and put Amador Valley into desperation mode.
"With a strong opponent like Amador Valley, we knew we needed more than just one goal," Bonnie added.
Amador Valley, who has an impressive win over Dublin and a draw with Berkeley, looks to rebound quickly as it hosts Freedom on Monday afternoon. It will be the second meeting this season between the teams, as Freedom won 4-0 during an earlier match. Heritage is off until a Jan. 4 match at home against De La Salle.