Upper Lake falls 6-2 to Roseland Collegiate Prep in non-league action
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MIDDLETOWN >> Middletown keeper Tristan Chairez did all he could do to slow down Kelseyville High School’s attack Tuesday afternoon during a North Central League I boys soccer game, but the visiting Knights were still able to pull out a 2-0 win thanks to second-half goals from Jake Smart and Jair Inostroza Carrillo.
“We played a pretty good game (26 shots), but the second half was just different,” Kelseyville head coach Kc White said. “I can’t put my finger on it. We ratcheted up the intensity, I guess, in the second and created double the opportunities than we had in the first half.”
If not for Chairez’s effort in front of the net, more of those shots would have found their mark, according to White.
“The Middletown keeper had a fantastic game today, including saving two penalty kicks,” White said. “It took a while to get shot by him. All the credit to him and his effort.”
“We played a solid game, holding it to 0-0 in the first half against Kelseyville,” Middletown head coach Katie Robinson said. “Kelseyville has one of Lake County’s dominant attacks, but our defense, led by Tony Juarez, was able to stay strong and challenged them to get points.”
Chairez had a lot to do with that, according to Robinson. “An outstanding effort was made by keeper Tristan Chairez, stopping not one but two penalty kicks.”
Between the hard work of the Middletown defense, especially Chairez, the Knights didn’t break through until the 63rd minute. Miguel Corona crossed a ball to a wide-open Smart, who blasted the ball into the net.
It remained a 1-0 game until the 79th minute when Kelseyville keeper Diego Serrato Hernandez boomed a drop kick down the field where Carrillo gained control of the ball, beat his defender and scored to make it 2-0. It was Carrillo’s fifth consecutive game with at least one goal.
While Middletown’s defense had a good day, so did Kelseyville’s.
“A shout-out to my defense … Gerardo Garcia, Ivan Carrillo, Manny Arias and Jake Smart,” White said. “They have been locked in recently with back-to-back shutouts, keeping my keeper clean. Ivan Carrillo, in particular, does things on the field that leave my jaw on the floor. It’s very rare that he loses the ball when he gets it. He has incredible instincts. I’m happy to have him out there.”
Kelseyville improved to a league-bet 4-0-1 and 9-4-2 overall with its win. Middletown is 0-6 in league and 1-9 overall.
Both teams return to action Thursday at 6:15 p.m. Middletown travels to Lower Lake while Middletown visits Upper Lake.
In other boys soccer action Tuesday:
Roseland Collegiate Prep 6, Upper Lake 2
At Santa Rosa, Roseland Collegiate Prep beat Upper Lake in non-league action, dropping the Cougars’ record to 3-11.
Jaden Nunez and Aiden Dancer scored for Upper Lake while Daniel Rojas and Emmanuel Tapia had assists.
“We played hard and had a lot of mistakes,” Upper Lake head coach Thomas Santana said. “Losing five players to grades didn’t help the cause at all. Lacking movement in the midfield made it hard for us to finish our attacks. We had a lot of shots with not a lot of goals.”
Field conditions didn’t help, according to Santana.
“The field was a mud pit and not having lights on a late-afternoon cloudy game was not easy either,” Santana said.
Upper Lake’s first goal came early in the game and was initiated on a Tapia cross to Dancer.
Roseland Collegiate Prep scored the next four goals to take a 4-1 lead. An indirect kick off the foot of Rojas set up a Nunez goal to make it 4-2.
“It was hard to watch us lose to a team that we could compete with,” Santana said. “We just continued to make silly mistakes with a lack of communication. When they come to us (Oct. 27 at Upper Lake) I think it will be a different outcome. Hoping we can bounce back on Thursday against Middletown in our homecoming game.”
The Middletown at Upper Lake game begins at 6:15 p.m.