Eric Katz played huge in the goal and Edgardo Flores and Kyle Schmechel combined on a beautiful goal, leading Dos Pueblos to a tense 1-0 victory at Santa Ynez on Wednesday.
Katz was at the top of his game against a tough Santa Ynez squad.
“Eric Katz was our man of the match, he kept us in it,” DP coach Tovi Eliasen said. “Santa Ynez is a very strong team. They gave us high pressure situations to deal with defensively as we were trying to get things organized. They got a lot of shots, but Eric did a real good job between the posts. I’m real proud of him.”
The Chargers (2-0) also got a strong came from center back Chris Castillo, who last year shared goalkeeping duties with Katz.
“They’re two leaders,” said Eliasen. “The clean sheet is highly due to them.”
The goal came in the 13th minute on a nifty combination play. Schmechel created space for himself at the top of the penalty and hit perfectly weighted ball to Flores, who ran on to it and beat the goalkeeper with a well-taken shot into the left-side netting.
“Kyle did well to create the space and find Eddie nicely,” said Eliasen.
The Chargers get a day off before heading to Atascadero to compete in the Cats and Hounds Tournament. They play Lompoc and Arroyo Grande on Friday.
