Two goals in the final 12 minutes has Turlock boys soccer heading to D1 final.
Turlock senior Beni Mejia had the odds stacked against him.
With the Bulldogs’ game against Whitney in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Semifinal knotted at one late in the second half, Mejia had five defenders around him.
Somehow, Mejia worked his way through the defenders with the ball and fired a shot to the left corner of the net for the game-winning goal in the 78th minute as Turlock beat Whitney, 2-1 on Tuesday.
“There are no words to describe it (the goal),” Turlock coach Doug Sperry said. “It was pure heart and effort. He (Beni) has been our leader all year.”
Mejia ran with his teammates to the Turlock bench where the celebration continued as the Bulldogs scored twice in the last 12 minutes to advance to their first final since 2014.
“My mind just told me to take it so I did and I did get hit from behind but I saw the ball and just took it and put it in,” he said.
The No. 1 seed Bulldogs (22-1-3) looked anything like the top team in the section in the first half. Wildcats junior Miguel Saavedra scored in the 20th minute on a rebound as Whitney took a 1-0 lead.
Turlock had three yellow cards in the first 40 minutes.
“We couldn’t get a rhythm going in the first half,” Sperry said. “We had few opportunities and didn’t really create anything for ourselves.”
In the first 25 minutes in the second half, the Bulldogs continued to struggle until senior Isaiah Johnson scored on a corner to tie the game at one in the 68th minute.
Turlock will face Jesuit on Thursday in the Div. I final at 7:30 p.m. at Tokay High School. Jesuit beat Pitman, 3-0 in the other semifinal.
It will be rematch of a Dec. 14 contest, which Turlock won 2-1.
“We just have to play hard with every ball and win everything,” Mejia said. “We have to put our chances away if we want to win.”
Central Valley 2, Rio Americano 1: Junior Alexys Jimenez scored the game-winning goal early in the second half for the Hawks (19-4-3).
Amador 2, Hilmar 1: Amador advanced to the Division V girls final with a victory over the Yellowjackets. Amador, the No. 1 seed, will meet No. 2 seed Ripon on Wednesday at Tokay High. Kickoff is 6 p.m.
Ceres 2 (4), Sierra 2 (3): The Bulldogs (19-1-4) scored two goals in the second half before advancing to the Div. III championship on penalty kicks.
This story was originally published February 19, 2019 at 10:21 PM.
