The long road trip to Perris apparently took its toll on the Carpinteria boys soccer team.
The Warriors got off to a slow start and suffered a 3-1 loss Tuesday in the second round of the CIF Division 5 playoffs.
“We just weren’t ready,” Carpinteria coach Daniel Torres lamented. “We weren’t ready to play, we weren’t ready to finish. We beat ourselves today.”
Perris, the champion of the Sunbelt League, scored two goals in the first 17 minutes to put Carpinteria in a big hole on the Panthers’ worn turf field.
“Both goals came on mental breakdowns in the back,” said Torres. “It took us 20 minutes to get going and knock the ball around. From the 20th minute to the end of the game, we dominated play. We had 15 shots on goal and only scored one. We’re better than this.”
Perris got a strong game from its goalkeeper, Jesus Cernas. He was credited with 10 saves.
“We had plenty of chances. We had the ball in their half the whole second half,” said Torres.
Edwin Elizarraras got the Tri-Valley League champs on the board in the 44th minute off an assist from Omar Vasquez.
But the Warriors couldn’t come up with the equalizer.
“It was totally frustrating to watch,” Torres said. “We showed how we could play in the second half. We just couldn’t convert.”
Perris scored its third goal in the last minute on a counterattack, as the Warriors pushed everyone forward in their desperate attempt to get a tying goal.
Carpinteria, the Division 5 runner-up last year, finishes the season at 15-7-1.
