By Jon Chown
Aptos High School’s Josiah Siqueiros scored three goals to lead the Mariners in a 6-1 victory over East Union High School in the first round of the Central Coast Regional semifinals soccer tournament Tuesday night in Aptos.
“We showed we were the better team tonight. [My] first hat trick of the season, and in a state game — and we’re not done yet,” Siqueiros said after the game.
Iván Zavala on a breakaway during Tuesday’s game against East Union High.
It was a close, hard-fought match through most of the game until the Mariners broke it open late. The first score came in the eighth minute when Haziel Parra drove past two defenders and the third tripped him inside the box. Siqueiros then took the penalty kick and drove it into the upper right corner for his first goal. Union would tie the game 10 minutes later and the two teams went into halftime tied 1-1.
“In the beginning it was a little tough,” said Ivan Zavala, who got two assists in the second half. “We didn’t have our rhythm. Once the second half started we started connecting more. We found our rhythm and it worked.”
Coach Roberto Zuniga said he felt the team had gotten complacent after the early goal and during halftime urged them to press the action more.
The Mariners took a 2-1 lead on a spectacular play by Parra. Dribbling down the right side, he dodged and dribbled through three defenders, then made a perfect crossing pass to Nicolas Topete who blasted the ball into the net 14 minutes into the second half.
“The way he broke through line, it was impressive,” said his coach.
Josiah Siqueiros of Aptos (in blue) battles for control of a flying ball with an East Union player Tuesday as Noah Malik reacts.
East Union responded by taking control of the ball and pressing on offense. A minute after Aptos scored the Lancers had a direct kick due to a penalty, but goalie Julian Almand made a nice save. Then, at the 20-minute mark, Almand made the save of the game. A breakaway by the Lancers led to a shot on goal that rocketed toward the top of the goal, but Almand leaped and stretched his right arm out to knock the ball over the top of the bar and keep his team in the lead.
“That was incredible,” said Zuniga after the game. “Julian has put in a lot of hard work and has really improved this season. He was terrific out there.”
Instead of 2-2, with 18 minutes left in the match it became 3-1 when the Mariners’ River Cook scored with Zavala’s assist. Ninety seconds later Zavala got his second assist with a deep pass to Siqueiros over the heads of two defenders. Siqueiros was then able to get past the last defender and score his second goal of the match to make it 4-1.
Goalie Julian Almand tips a shot over the goal, making a spectacular second-half save.
It took only five minutes more for Siqueiros to score again. This time he broke through the defense and was basically just tackled by the goalie. He put the ensuing penalty kick into the back of the net.
The final goal came off the foot of Jose Ulloa with eight minutes left in regulation. He was assisted by David Sebastian Killpatrick. “We were able to shift the momentum and capitalize on our chances throughout the second half,” said Killpatrick.
Every member of the team played in the game. Coach Zuniga said the victory was a collective effort.
“The team regrouped at halftime and got back to playing the simple game of passing and creating,” said Zuniga. “We capitalized on the speed that our wingers have.”
The 6-1 victory advances Aptos into the regional semifinal on Thursday against top-seeded Liberty Ranch High School from Galt. The game starts at 5 p.m. at Aptos High’s Trevin Dilfer Stadium.
“Everybody is behind us. It’s pretty cool to see. I think this team has more to give and we’ll make the finals,” said Topete.
“This is our moment,” said Zavala. “We are going to keep going, and keep winning.”
Haziel Parra controls the ball.
TOP PHOTO: Nicholas Topete (left) of Aptos attempts a header on Tuesday against East Union High School.