*Originally published on prep2prep.com*
It only took one touch of the ball for Carlmont to seal a 1-0 victory, despite a lackluster effort, over visiting Woodside on Wednesday night.
In the 68th minute, Carlmont forward Michel Gonzalez sprinted past two defenders and caught up to the perfectly placed through ball which he chipped over goalie’s head into the net to put the Scots on top.
“One simple through ball, and a chip play nonetheless, and all the sudden we’re looking up from the wrong side,” said Woodside head coach Darrell Ringman.
Ringman had reason to be upset. His team attempted eighteen shots on goal, including two that hit the post. Contrastingly, Gonzalez’s late goal was one of just seven shots taken by Carlmont in the match.
Woodside (5-4-3, 1-2-3) dominated time of possession and forced the Scots (8-2-2, 4-1-1) into bad decision making all game long. The Wildcats put constant pressure on Carlmont goalie Zack Wooster, who rocked a hot pink goalie kit and made nine spectacular saves.
“Our defense really played hard and gave it their all, especially considering we have some of our key defenders injured and sick,” said defensive midfielder Justin Quan.
Woodside’s final effort came in the 77th minute when Salvador Herrera fired a shot at Wooster, who caught the ball momentarily, dropped it inches away from the line, and picked it up just in time to protect the 1-0 lead.
“We played a team that’s top of the table, and they have the results to show it, but tonight I saw a superior team in Woodside. The scoreboard doesn’t show it but that’s the funny thing about soccer,” said Ringman.
“If you look at the stats we didn’t deserve to win this game,” said Carlmont head coach Jodi Beloff, “We didn’t look very good out there. I think we learned a lesson today without having to suffer a loss to learn the lesson.”
The Scots found themselves alone at the top of the PAL-Bay division after the win and a Menlo-Atherton loss to San Mateo. The teams were previously tied for first place.
Carlmont rides a four game winning streak and sole possession of first place into its match at Sequoia on Friday at 4:00.
Woodside will try to climb its way back into the hunt as it takes on host Menlo-Atherton on the road Friday at 4:00.
