Knights build 3-1 lead, hang on to defeat Woodland Christian 3-2
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WOODLAND >> Diego Rico’s penalty kick put Kelseyville ahead to stay, but it was a 36th-minute goal by Sebastian Cacho that proved to be the winning goal in the Knights’ 3-2 non-league victory over Woodland Christian in non-league varsity boys soccer action Thursday in Woodland.
It was the first victory of the 2024-25 winter season for Kelseyville (1-11-2).
“Our first win of the season!” Kelseyville head coach KC White said. “It’s been a long time coming. We have been involved in a lot of close games this year and just haven’t put together enough of a complete game to win. We finally put enough together today to hold on for a win.”
Julio Lopez took a free kick from Jonathan Gonzalez in the fourth minute, one that traveled into the box, and punched it into the net to give Kelseyville a 1-0 lead.
“Jonathan Gonzalez had a free kick just inside the half field and delivered a beautiful ball into the box,” White said. “Julio Lopez was in the right spot at the right time to put us in front.”
Woodland Christian evened the scored in the 17th minute, at which point Kelseyville made a formation change.
“And it seemed to work pretty well,” White said.
Rico’s penalty kick in the 29th minute put Kelseyville back into the lead, and it remained a 2-1 game until Cacho scored in the 36th minute with an assist from Cameron Smith.
“We had a couple other great chances in the first half as well, but couldn’t add to the lead,” White said.
Woodland Christian closed the gap to 3-2 in the 62nd minute.
“We continued to pressure and had a couple of good shots late to put the game away, but both were saved. We held on for dear life,” White said.
Nailing down their first win was a big relief for the Knights, according to White.
“Proud is an understatement for how I feel about this team,” White said. “As I said, we have been in a lot of close games, and never breaking through to win was taking a toll. The kids were dragging. We picked up this win at just the right time. We never lost the desire to win. It goes to show how mentally tough the kids are.”
The Knights now return home to play Healdsburg on Saturday at noon, their first home game of the season. The junior varsity boys follow at 2 p.m.
