Stallions record road victory
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera South’s Javier Buenrostro battles with a Sunnyside player during Tuesday’s victory over the Wildcats. Buenrostro scored an insurance goal late in the match for a 2-0 win.
FRESNO — With an uncertainty of having a season, Madera South boys soccer coach Enrique Garcia was just happy to see his players on the field.
His team turned that joy into a pair of goals for a road victory Tuesday against the Sunnyside-Fresno Wildcats.
“It’s amazing to get these boys on the field,” Garcia said. “From summer being limited to having to tell the boys that we’re going to play, although I didn’t know 100 percent if we were. I had to feed them what I could to get them out there. Eventually, they got rewarded to be able to touch the field. It’s amazing. I’m happy for them and happy for the community that we’re able to do that.”
Garcia received an early goal from Raul Arzola, his third in two matches, and a late insurance goal from Javier Buenrostro to seal the 2-0 victory.
“(That first goal) calmed a lot,” Garcia said. “We’re really young as a squad. We only have five returners that are starting. There are a lot of new faces on the field and on the bench. It calmed a lot of nerves getting that goal in. We played a little soft. Sunnyside played physical. In the second half, we matched them even with our young guys. That gave us an advantage to go out and do different things in the second half.”
In the first half, Arzola scored a goal off a touch pass from Luis Diaz for the 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.
From there, the two teams spent the rest of the first half trying to take control. In the 25th minute, Arzola sent a 30-yard shot over the net. Four minutes later, Gerardo Becerra go the ball on the left and shot on goal. The Sunnyside keeper bobbled the ball, but secured it before Arzola could cause any damage.
In the second half, Marco Leal’s 35-yard shot was caught in the second minute, In the 18th minute, Arturo Zavala had a chance in the middle, but his 30-yard shot went over the net.
In the 25th minute, off a free kick, Luis Flores dribbled up to the 30-yard line and shot on goal, but it went high and wide.
Madera South goalkeeper Ishmael Ambriz had to come off the line to stop a shot inside the goalkeeper’s box with a sliding save.
Three minutes later, the Stallions capitalized on the save. Buenrostro got the ball on the right from Zavala. Buenrostro settled the ball in the middle and sent a 30-yard shot on goal into the upper right corner by a diving goalkeeper for the 2-0 lead.
With two minutes left in the match, Ambriz came out to break up a Wildcats’ breakaway attempt to secure the victory.
Madera South continues play today at home against Clovis at noon.
