Knights turn back archrival Cardinals in ‘chippy’ North Central League I opener
Lake County Sports on Facebook
KELSEYVILLE >> Building a 3-0 halftime lead, the Kelseyville Knights beat the Clear Lake Cardinals 4-2 in the North Central League I boys soccer opener for both teams Thursday night in Kelseyville.
In a no-love-lost meeting between these archrivals, the Knights (1-0 league, 4-3-1) overcame the loss of starting keeper Cesar Silva late in the first half to turn back the Cardinals. Silva was hurt in a midair collision with a Clear Lake player and had to leave the game.
“And you can’t simply replace a talented player like Cesar and expect the same results,” Kelseyville head coach Kc White said. “My backup keeper Jorge Gonzalez performed admirably in his absence, but Jorge has just not had the time working in goal this season.”
There was a lot of back-and-forth talk between players on both teams, according to White, fueling a tense atmosphere.
“A lot of chatter from both teams, both of which like to talk the talk, but we know how to walk the walk too and we did it better than they did tonight,” White said.
Jair Inostroza Carrillo was involved in all four of Kelseyville’s goals, scoring twice and assisting on goals by teammates Omar Mercado Marquez and Julian Arias.
Mercado Marquez scored with an Inostroza Carrillo assist to make it 1-0 early in the first half. The first of Inostroza Carrillo’s two goals made it 2-0, and a cross from Inostroza Carrillo set up Arias’ goal in the 25th minute to make it 3-0.
Silva went down minutes later while battling for a ball in front of the net.
Clear Lake took advantage of Silva’s absence to cut Kelseyville’s lead to 3-2 (Clear Lake goal scorers not reported) in the second half. It wasn’t until Inostroza Carrillo scored in the 78th minute that the Knights put the game away, Mercado Marquez providing the assist.
“I’m proud of my team for locking in when it looked like it was going against us,” White said. “Despite being outscored 2-1 in the second half, I thought we played better offensively. We got up way more shots in the second half than in the first, but we were way more efficient in the first. I want us to close games stronger, and I believe we will moving forward because of this test.”
White had nothing but praise for the efforts of Inostroza Carrillo, who is nursing a sore hamstring and was a game-time decision to play.
“He sat out practice on Monday and Tuesday, did light work Wednesday, and said he felt OK to give it a go,” White said. “He never subbed out of tonight’s game. He switched from offense to defense and back to offense and had a hand in every one of our goals tonight. Tonight his performance was definitely MVP-esque and very deserving of a shoutout. I don’t know where we would have been without him.”
Kelseyville faces a tough road test Tuesday in Fort Bragg at 5 p.m., according to White.
“In my opinion, Fort Bragg is the team to beat in our league this season. We shared the title with them (and Lower Lake) last year, and just the small amount I’ve watched them this season, they are very talented in the middle. They pass extremely well and they have veteran leadership to contend with. With that said, I’m confident in my team.”
Clear Lake (0-1, 4-2-1) plays a non-league game Friday in South Fork at 5 p.m.
