Dos Pueblos’ Eduardo Cortez might not have meant to, but his unintended second-half goal on Thursday proved to be the game-winner in a 3-2 victory over Knight in the first round of the Div. II CIF playoffs.
Cortez serviced a ball into the penalty area from the right side, just trying to make something happen. That he did, as the centering-pass fell into Knight’s sidenet to give Dos Pueblos a 3-2 lead in the 58th minute.
Dos Pueblos’ Eduardo Cortez races past a Knight defender.
“He’ll admit it was a cross,” said Chargers head coach Tovi Eliasen, whose team improves to 10-5-9 on the season.
Cortez recorded two goals on the day and assisted on DP’s first, a second-minute strike from Rodrigo Perez that gave the Chargers a 1-0 lead less than two minutes removed from the opening whistle.
“It was a dream start really,” Eliasen said.
But Knight came back with two goals before halftime to take a lead at the break.
“I told them all they needed was one goal to change the direction of the game,” recalled Eliasen.
Dos Pueblos captain Brandon Tangel makes a forward pass.
Dos Pueblos made it happen in the 55th minute off a set piece. Defender Danny Rowell took the kick, sending it into the penalty area. Brandon Tangel met the balll on the other end and without a good angle for a shot, passed it back across the goal’s mouth. Cortez was there to deftly volley in the equalizer.
Cortez produced the game-winner three minutes later.
“We did a good job of killing off the clock from there,” noted Eliasen, who commended Kyle Schmechel and Vicente Perez for their defensive work.
(Photos by Tom Modugno)
