Page 9 - Sanger Herald 2-22-18 E-edition

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SANGER HERALD * PAGE 1B * THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2018
All Sanger until a dozen minutes into the 2nd half vs. Liberty
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
The Apaches played a furious defense, shutting down the Liberty Hawks’ scoring drives for the entire first half and into the second.
When Jackie Segura scored on a free kick, it looked to fans on the Sanger side of the Madera Ranchos field that their team had it in the bag that night on Feb. 16. Then the Hawks, who were 20-5-1 on the season, scored two goals in quick succession.
And like that it was a season. Liberty played Edison in the California Interscholastic Federation Division II Central Section playoffs Feb. 20.
“We made some mistakes, and mistakes are expensive in life,” said Mihailo Jovanovic, Sanger assistant coach. “And you have to move on.”
Jovanovic said his Lady Apaches may have underestimated their opponent. “They deserved the win,” he said of the Hawks. “(Now) we have
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Apache No. 9 Erikah Colin competes for a header.
to move on and keep building.”
Segura’s score about a dozen minutes into the second half buoyed the visiting Apaches. Maybe too much. An indication of the Liberty determination came about two minutes later when Sanger goalie Brianna Alarrazabal made an impressive save, preventing a score.
Despite a drive and scoring attempt by sophomore Victoria Neri on the Liberty goal, the Lady Hawks remained undeterred. Hawk junior forward Brooke Wristen took full advantage in a ramp-up of her team’s playing intensity and subsequently scored two goals in rapid succession.
A factor may have been an injury that sidelined a key player, senior midfielder Victoria Martinez. “She was the spirit of the middle,” Segura said, agreeing that it may have contributed to the loss of momentum.
The Hawks continued a furious onslaught after the scores fired up their
rather robust fan base, but Alarrazabal scored another save to prevent further damage. A minute later, she nailed another save.
“That was a hard-fought game,” said liberty coach Erick Walker via email. “Both teams left it all on the field. It really could’ve gone either way. Nothing but respect for the Sanger team and coaching staff.”
And despite a late series of rallies led by Neri and junior Audrey Reyna and others that resulted in effective drives toward the Liberty goal, Sanger couldn’t convert any of them into points on the scoreboard.
“I don’t know what to say,” Reyna said when asked for a comment.
Senior defender Sabrina Aguirre just offered an expression that indicated she wasn’t thinking about anything pleasant.
Alarrazabal left the field exhibiting some emotion. “It was a good season,” she said.
And despite her definite lack of post-game exuberance, Segura was
pleased by her goal. “Felt amazing,” she said, adding, “It’s like we let up a bit knowing we were up one- zero.”
The Apaches picked up the intensity in the final 10 minutes, dominating the field. But time ran out. Segura said they could have used a little more.
Hector Sanchez and Saul Sanchez from the boys’ soccer team, attended the game. Hector called the game 3-1 or 2-0 in the Apaches’ favor before the start. “They got lucky,” he said afterward.
Junior forward Sarah Calderon said she’s looking forward to next year, and that one particular reason rated rather highly in her mind at that moment.
“Revenge,” she said. “I’ll work my butt off for my last year. Work on (correcting) my mistakes.” And referring to the game, added, “It hurts, but we learn. And that’s it. I want to thank God for protecting me this season for next year.”
Apache boys take first win in playoffs
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Hector Sanchez spent a frustrating stretch on the bench this season nursing an injury and watching his teammates sprint up and down the soccer field as they battled a variety of opponents.
Sometimes they won. Sometimes they lost. Sanchez, a senior and team captain, could only encourage from the sideline. He maintained an optimistic attitude, hoping his body would heal in the quickest amount of time possible and he’d be cleared by doctors to return.
Then playoffs arrived, and Sanchez was ready. He was back.
“One hundred percent,” said a fellow Apache.
No. 10 seed Stockdale traveled all the way from Bakersfield to Tom Flores Stadium on Feb. 13 to face the No. 7 Apaches and a rehabilitated, and almost effervescent, Sanchez in the California Interscholastic Federation Central Section Division II playoffs, sponsored by Les Schwab Tires. That’s about two hours on a bus.
Afterward, battered and bruised from a 3-0 loss, none of the Mustangs were likely too pleased with Sanchez’s recovery since he contributed the last of the Sanger goals. A powerfully accurate Saul Sanchez scored the other two on free kicks.
But while Hector can relate to the doldrums of a loss, he didn’t concern himself much with the losing team’s frame of mind. Nope. He radiated happiness.
“I told you this would be a good game,” he said minutes after the referee’s whistle called an end to the second half.
And it was. For Sanger.
The Apaches played like an experienced club team, whose members have had years to acclimate to each
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Andrew Andrade leaps over the Stockdale goalie on the way to an Apache win.
Hector was back to his old self and he said he knew he was going to make that goal. “I felt it coming ever since the locker room (before the game),” he said. “This is my last year. I’m a senior. If I was ever to do anything, it was here. It was now. I hope I proved that I really wanted this win.”
Jackie Segura, a fellow senior and a close friend, was amongst many from the girls Apache varsity soccer team who attended the game. “Amazing game,” she said. “Amazing goal.”
Junior defenseman Hunter Reick congratulated Sanchez on the goal. “I told you, you were going to get it,” he said.
Sanchez gave credit to the team. “We played really good,” he said. “We played as a unit. We had our long- ball moments (but we overcame them).”
Senior Jorge Resendiz played like he was a character in a movie with the speed increased a couple notches. He was everywhere midfield, stripping the ball from Stockdale forwards and sending the ball to teammates to initiate another run on the opposing goal.
Resendiz called the game competitive, despite the lopsided score. “They played well,” he said. “(But) we got this one. Not just one player, the whole team.”
Goalie Eddie Cuevas made several key saves, maintaining the Apaches’ lead and sealing the win. He said he was nervous before the game. But then the action ramped up and the nerves faded. Cuevas credited his coach Guillen for teaching him to “stay comfortable” despite the pressure.
“I just felt it,” he said. “I felt like I could stop anything.”
And he did.
Saul Sanchez said before his free kicks, he sized up
his opposition, analyzing angle, timing and his opponents. On the first goal, which Sanchez scored with about 20 minutes gone in the first half, he said he just caught the Mustang defenders off guard when he blazed the ball right past their defensive line and the goalie. On the second, which was early in the second half, he found the hole in their defenses and just aimed for it.
“I was just placing it in the goal without thinking,” he said of the first. “I just hit it.”
The crowd went wild.
On the second goal, Sanchez said, “I looked at the post and it’s all clear. I just tried to place it in there.”
His ball arced perfectly, finding nothing but net.
Junior Ryan Serrano had this to say, “We showed them no mercy. Now I just want to go home and sleep.”
There were some impressive moments by others on the Sanger team. Had senior Omreep Mander not gotten the game-ending whistle, he likely would have scored. He had the ball under control and had that Mander look of determination as he drove down the field.
Mander agreed that he was dialed in.
And junior Andrew Andrade would have had the score if not for a couple of pretty excellent saves by the Mustangs’ goalie. Sophomore Luis Villegas kicked an excellent cross past the Mustangs’ goal for another possible goal had the Stockdale defense not slightly slowed his teammates in front of the net.
Senior Adrian Recinos would have scored midway through the second half if it weren’t for a goalie save. And Saul Sanchez would have had a third goal had the goalie not caught the ball. And sophomore Gabriel Torres unleashed a furious offensive assault multiple times.
others playing styles. Or maybe up to the caliber of a successful two-year college team, whose players are hand-picked for their roles and talent and quickly accept the program their coaches laid out.
Fast, efficient and constantly communicating — either by way of body language or a few barked words. These Apaches passed like pros, engaged the Mustangs and wrenched the ball away from Stockdale’s players whenever possible.
The Mustangs, under coach Sean Sullivan, weren’t pushovers. Senior goalie Daniel Sazo prevented at least a trio of surefire scores by Apache attackers, and fellow senior and defender Walter Bryant ran with the speed of a barreling freight train to derail any offensive threat.
While Bryant was successful, he couldn’t do it alone. Sanger’s forwards and midfielders dominated Stockdale’s side of the field for a majority of the game. Not until the final minutes did the Mustangs’ attempts
succeed in a sustained offense and shots on the Apaches’ goal.
“Pressure broke them down after awhile,” said Sanger head coach Alex Gutierrez. “That’s what we needed. That’s what we’ve tried to build all season. Everything we tried to implement came together in this game.
“Flawless, in my opinion.”
The season didn’t always proceed that way. Some games inspired on-field brilliance. Others not so much. Sanger’s overall record after the win was 11-12-4. Stockdale’s was 6-9- 4. Then on Feb. 15, Sanger lost to No. 2 Redwood, 1-0.
Gutierrez and his assistant coaches, Manuel Herrera and Alex Guillen, worked closely with the team over the season to build their players’ skills and confidence. Gutierrez frequently encouraged them to increase the intensity of their play on the field, to find “that fire, that energy.”
And at least on this night, Sanger’s varsity soccer team showed that it could.
The effort didn’t go unnoticed. “One down, baby. Let’s go!” Gutierrez said as his players left the field just after the win. And later as they assembled midfield following the handshakes with the other team and refs, he said, “I have to say from the bottom of my heart, everyone of you played to the level we needed. Very good job, beautiful work.”
And Herrera said, “We gotta keep going. We’ve gotta get better.”
The team agreed. Loudly.
Hector Sanchez later explained how he felt about the game. He initially had returned to the field, post- injury, during the game against Madera, which resulted in a 1-1 tie on Feb. 1. He’d had his left quadricep wrapped with multiple sports bandages and poured water on them during the game to numb the pain and allow him to continue playing. Still, he wasn’t yet nimble and had to distribute the ball to teammates rather than making a run on the goal himself.
Against the Mustangs,