North Central League I boys soccer race ends in three-way tie
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KELSEYVILLE >> Two teams competing for a league championship played like it Tuesday as the Kelseyville Knights and Lower Lake Trojans battled to the final second.
In the end, Kelseyville and Lower Lake had to settle for a 3-3 tie and a one-third share of the North Central League I boys soccer championship. Maybe not the most satisfying end as a win by either team would have given that team the undisputed league crown, but both squads will hang a pennant in their gym – as will the Fort Bragg Timberwolves – and that’s never a bad thing.
Kelseyville, Lower Lake and Fort Bragg, a 4-1 winner over Clear Lake in Lakeport on Tuesday, all finished 9-1-2 in the final league standings. Kelseyville went 1-0-1 in its two meetings with Fort Bragg, Fort Bragg went 1-0-1 against Lower Lake, and Lower Lake went 1-0-1 against Kelseyville, that’s how competitive this league race ended up. A number-draw tiebreaker held prior to the start of the season gives Fort Bragg the automatic berth into next week’s North Coast Section playoffs. Kelseyville and Lower Lake will apply for at-large berths and should have no trouble securing them Sunday at the at-large and seeding meeting.
Kelseyville, a 2-1 loser at Lower Lake earlier this season, scored twice that many goals in the opening minute of the first half, jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Jair Inostroza Carrillo and Luis Alvarado. While a bit shaken, Lower Lake didn’t back down a bit and rallied to tie the game by the end of the half.
That momentum carried over into the second half as the Trojans grabbed their first lead of the game on a penalty kick by Jorge Carlos Correa. It was the second penalty kick on the day for Lower Lake after Adrian Guzman’s penalty kick in the first half helped the Trojans erase a 2-0 deficit. Agustin Sanchez Navarro also scored for Lower Lake.
Lower Lake held onto that 3-2 lead late into the second half, dodging a handful of close calls by the Knights before Kelseyville finally punched in a game-tying goal, that by Julio Lopez with around seven minutes left.
Kelseyville had several opportunities to push in front and dominated the last few minutes but couldn’t break through for the go-ahead goal as the Lower Lake defense held firm.
“That was a really good soccer game,” Kelseyville head coach Kc White said. “We got off to a great start, building a 2-0 lead. Then we made some mistakes, giving up a penalty and then a mishandled ball on the back line. We were level at 2 at halftime, but the mood was somber on my team bench.”
Kelseyville’s mood didn’t improve in the second half when a handball set the stage for Correa’s tiebreaking penalty kick.
“Inexcusable,” White said. “I thought we were dead after the goal, but my team has shown resilience all season long and they fought again tonight, too. We threatened constantly in the second half, especially in the last 20 minutes and finally broke through on Julio Lopez’s goal with about seven minutes left. We continued to put shots on goal late in the game, but credit to the Lower Lake keeper (Juan Perez) for keeping all the shots out.”
Added White, “I’m proud of my team. We announced ourselves back to the fall season the best way possible; with a league championship, and we went the (11) seniors out with a title, too.”
Alvarado and Emmanuel Arias had assists for the Knights.
It’s Lower Lake’s second league title in three years.
Kelseyville takes a 14-6-3 record and Lower Lake a 12-3-2 mark into the playoffs.
“We are excited to play in the postseason for the first time since these seniors were freshmen, our first season in the winter,” White said.