Liberty's boys soccer season ends in 2-0 loss to Pioneer

Emiliano Cruz takes a shot for Liberty in the Bison's playoff game against Pioneer. (Photo by Haven Rice)

By Parker Costin, Correspondent

The Liberty High boys soccer team lost a close CIF-SS playoff match against the Pioneer Titans Wednesday night, 2-0. Liberty played a defensive-heavy game with great pressure in the offensive and neutral zones of the field.

In the first half, the Bison had great shot opportunities right from the start. Senior captain Andrew Holmes had a great scoring opportunity where he juked out two defenders at midfield and then drew a foul, resulting in great field possession in offensive territory. Following this opportunity, junior captain Tyler Guardado shot a header that missed just right of the goal post. This would be the last shot opportunity for the Bison for the rest of the first half, but goalie Cristiano Torres made great saves to help keep the Bison alive.

Torres had a total of 8 saves on 10 shots for the Bison. A spectacular save came on a breakaway shot for the Titans when Torres made a sliding stop to keep the ball out of the net and lead to a breakaway opportunity for the Bison. Later on in the first half, Torres made a leaping save on a free kick to keep the Bison in the hunt. This would be all the action in the first half, as the rest of the half was filled with takeaways and defensive stops on both sides of the field.

Coming into the second half, it was clear that the game plan for the Bison was to keep offensive pressure at a maximum and generate as many shots as possible. They continued to keep the Titans on their toes with quick passes and great shots, generating a total of 4 shots on goal in the second half.

One of these shots came from sophomore Brandon Acevedo, who had a clear scoring opportunity but unfortunately shanked the shot just left of the goal post. These unfortunate scenarios were a common problem for the Bison.

Besides the great offensive pressure, the Bison had a strong defensive second half, allowing zero goals and only letting the Titans record one shot on goal for the remainder of the game.

The Bison’s final record is 10-7-3.

“I just want to say how proud I am of my boys and how hard they've worked to get here,” coach Garrett Hayden said after the game. “It wasn't meant to be on the night, but they can keep their heads held high for all they've achieved this season.

"Our captains Andy, Thiago (Scapinelli), and Tyler, deserve a lot of credit for pushing this team to perform and compete for this first playoff run in the program’s history, as do my seniors, who helped grow this program for the last four years and are the pillars for what is to come at Liberty. All around, I am immensely proud of all these guys. Their incredible work and spirit this season is more than I could ever ask for as a coach.”

Andrew Peralta moves the ball ahead against a defender Wednesday. (Photo by Haven Rice)

 Andrew Holmes works hard to keep an opponent away from the ball. (Photo by Haven Rice)