Patterson boys’ soccer defeats Sierra to advance to first section title game in 13 years
The Patterson and Sierra boys’ soccer teams had no problem finding the back of the net in Thursday night’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinal matchup.
The two teams scored nine total goals but when the final whistle blew, the Tigers came out victorious, winning 6-3, and earning a spot in the section championship for the first time in more than a decade.
“By now the boys know (the history),” said head coach Luis Torres. “We’ve been to the playoffs, we’ve battled it out every year, but this team is just totally equipped. They knew they had to put everything away, so it feels great for them.”
Their most recent section title came as a member of Division V, in 2009 and their last playoff appearance was in 2010, when Torres was still a Patterson High student.
“It’s crazy because we’ve all been friends since we were smaller and all this just means so much to us for the community,” senior Johan Mendoza said, motioning to the crowd of fans that made its way from the bleachers onto the field. “This means a lot because you know, we finally made it to the finals after so long.”
The Tigers (19-0-1) fell behind twice in Thursday’s semifinals. They trailed 1-0 with 33:38 to go in the first half after turning the ball over on a pass from the midfield to the defense.
They would go on to score three unanswered goals courtesy of Mendoza, Gabe Abellana and Antonio Gallegos to take a 3-1 lead into halftime.
Patterson gave up two goals in less than three minutes to start the second half, allowing the Timberwolves (17-4-2) to tie the game at 3 apiece.
“That’s soccer,” Torres said. “If you don’t put one away and they get one, they’re gonna put it away especially in a playoff game, and that’s what happened to us.”
Again, the Tigers answered with three straight. Mendoza scored the fourth goal and set up Matthew Aldana and Jacob Zuniga for goals five and six, respectively, to extend their win streak to 14 games heading into the Division III title game. They will play third seed Vista del Lago of Folsom.
Mendoza made his mark for the Tigers this season with 13 goals and 20 assists, but the team is versatile. They have two other players with more than 10 goals and a number of others who can make an impact off the bench. Zuniga scored within minutes of subbing into the game in the second half against Sierra.
“It’s not only me, we got people like Johnny Gallardo, Matt, Tony, our defense, everybody can score,” Mendoza said. “We can count on each other.”
Said Torres: “This team is complete. It’s not just him (Mendoza).The other guys complete him. They’re moving around with the ball and they know how to play really well.”
This year’s team is different.
They play loose and free, not afraid to try tricky passes and find unique angles in an attempt to find the back of the net, but still remember the fundamentals.
“We’re a very technical team,” Torres said. They know when to keep the ball out, they know when to hit it over and they’re coachable.”
