Stallions work over for win
Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune
Madera South’s Christian Garcia congratulates Miguel Barraza after Barraza scored the tie-breaking goal Saturday for a 2-1 win over Madera.
It took about 24 hours to finish, but the Madera South Stallions closed the first half of the County/Metro Athletic Conference season with a 3-1 overtime victory over the Madera Coyotes.
The Stallions led 1-0 at halftime Friday before the game was postponed because of rain and lightning. Play resumed Saturday afternoon with Madera scoring a quick first half goal to force overtime.
Madera South scored two goals in overtime for the victory.
“It was a bit weird to only play one half of a game,” Madera head coach Nic Landeros said. “It’s difficult because you want to feel the other team out. You don’t have that luxury playing one half. I told the boys before the game I wanted a goal in the first seven minutes and we got that.”
“It was difficult to play today,” Madera South assistant coach Enrique Garcia said. “The momentum changed and it was weird to have to do this. But, we finished out what we did yesterday.”
Kevin Osuna scored in the 17th minute of the first half for the early lead. Madera got a goal on a corner kick in the fifth minute to tie the match.
“In training, we do a lot of situational drills,” Landeros said. “We train to get a goal within seven minutes when the other team is compacted in. The boys were mentally prepared to get that quick goal. We had the upper hand for most of that half. The final product, again, wasn’t there. We’ll go back to work.”
In overtime, the Stallions got a goal from Christian Garcia and a tiebreaking goal from Miguel Barraza for the win.
“Our players stepped up,” Garcia said. “Our players we look to to score goals showed up to and they put the game away. It was two different halves. We looked like two different teams, but we finished. We’re striving to look past league and can we finish? If we go overtime, do we have the players and are they hungry enough to finish out a team?”
In the 17th minute of the first half, Osuna dribbled around a defender and went one-on-one with Madera goalkeeper Juan Daza. Osuna slid the ball past Daza on his right for the first goal of the game.
The Coyotes had a couple of free kicks to try to tie the score, but to no avail.
After trying to wait out the rain and lightning, the game was postponed to Saturday afternoon. In the fifth minute of the second half Saturday, Madera got a corner kick and sent the ball in front. The ball was knocked around, but Seth Valencia was able to get a shot off and send it into the back of the net to tie the score.
Midway through the first half, Alexander Castro and Josue Ramirez combined for a chance, but Ramirez’s shot for the far post went just wide. Three minutes later, Barraza’s tiebreaking shot went into the back of a Madera defender. In the 27th minute, Madera South got a free kick, but Daza slid to the ball to clear it out.
In the 35th minute, Madera South got a free kick just outside the goalkeeper’s box on the right side. Garcia knocked the ball to the front of the goal, but it was kicked out. Gabino Diaz sent a return shot back on goal, but Daza made the save.
Madera South had a chance to win it in regulation. They received a corner kick in the 39th minute. Diego Hipolito sent the kick on goal, but it was headed out. Diaz’s return shot went over the goal and the match went into overtime.
In the eighth minute of overtime, Madera South received a free kick from about 30 yards out. Garcia knocked the ball to the front of the goal and Barraza, on the backside, headed the ball off a Madera defender for the goal.
In the final seconds of the first half of overtime, Madera South struck again. Off goalkeeper Mark Davila’s drop kick, Nathan Diaz fed the ball to Osuna on the left. Osuna went into the box, but was taken out from behind and the Stallions were given a penalty kick.
Garcia went to kick and scored, but the goal was called off. It didn’t bother Garcia because he hit the same shot and Daza dove the same opposite way for the insurance goal.
“We allowed two dead ball goals,” Landeros said. “It was a header that deflected off our guy’s shoulders. We had a mental lapse with the penalty kick. Madera South is well coached and we know their style to hit you with the counterattack. It plays to their favor when we’re trying to go forward. It’s tough to defend when they have speed on the wings. Hats off to them. They buy in to that system.”
Madera had three chances in overtime, but Davila didn’t touch the ball. Two shots went over the goal and another free kick was hit into the wall. Madera South held on for the 3-1 win.
