Cinco días después de perder contra Mendota en el partido de campeonato del Torneo de Mendota, el equipo de fútbol masculino Madera Coyotes se vengó de la derrota con una victoria en tiempo extra en casa.
The Coyotes struggled to get a goal in regulation, but finally broke the deadlock in overtime and won 1-0 at Memorial Stadium on Thursday, Dec. 20.
“Me siento muy, muy feliz porque este es un equipo que nos venció en el torneo”, dijo el estudiante de último año Emmanuel Cabello. “Cuando entramos al partido, teníamos una mentalidad y era que no íbamos a perder contra este equipo otra vez. Teníamos esta mentalidad de que íbamos a trabajar tan duro como pudiéramos para poder conseguir esta victoria”.”
Cabello anotó el gol de la victoria en el tercer minuto del tiempo extra. El estudiante de segundo año Jonah Hill dribló por la banda izquierda y encontró a Cabello, quien giró alrededor del defensor y colocó el balón en la esquina inferior izquierda de la portería desde unos 20 metros de distancia.
“I saw the ball come, so I had to focus,” Cabello said. “When I got that shot, I took a deep breath. I was just very calm and I put it in.”
Mendota tuvo dos oportunidades de oro para empatar el partido en tiempo extra. La primera oportunidad llegó con un remate de cabeza de Alex Ochoa, que fue atajado por las yemas de los dedos del portero Francisco Segovia.
El joven portero volvió a ser crucial unos minutos después, realizando una atajada espectacular para detener otro disparo de Ochoa.
“I’m proud of my keeper,” Cabello said. “He saved us a lot. I think he’s the real MVP.”
With emotions at a high level from both sides in the final minutes, Madera senior Jose Escalera was accused of impeding a freekick. As a result, Escalera saw his second yellow card of the game and was given an early exit.
“The referee is one of things that we can’t control,” Madera coach Nic Landeros said. “Usually you don’t call something like that. When the player is already on a yellow card, you just tell them, ‘Hey man, you’re on a yellow card already,’ but it is what it is.”
Escalera had a chance to give the Coyotes the lead in the third minute of the game, but his shot was saved by a defender on the goalline. The Coyotes also had a few shots skip across the face of the goal and some which hit the post.
Landeros said he is happy with how his team kept their head up when things didn’t go right.
“That’s just us dominating our mindset,” Landeros said. “We stress. When we make a bad play or something doesn’t go our way, just to turn the page. We just keep at it and not get frustrated. We can control our emotions and our attitude, so that’s what we look to do.”
The Coyotes finished last season with only two wins, but Landeros said the team has grown from that tough experience this year.
“Last year we were a young team and we knew how it felt to get beat pretty bad,” Landeros said. “For these guys to step up this year and fight every game, that’s just a credit to them. That’s not me. That’s them and their heart and their work ethic.”