The Santa Barbara Soccer Club’s Under-15 boys defeated Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt, 2-1, on Wednesday to win their pool and earn a berth in the quarterfinals at the prestigious Dallas Cup tournament in Texas.
Santa Barbara got first-half goals from Giovanny Acosta and Benjamin Garcia, and played solid defense to beat the German side.
“We got a solid performance from our back four(Carson Vom Steeg, Eric Contreras, Benjamin Garcia, Francisco Arroyo). Also, our midfielder Tim Heiduk was solid in controlling their play maker and winning many challenges in the midfield,” said coach Rudy Ybarra.
Acosta gave Santa Barbara 1-0 lead off an assist from Jules Pasco.
“The play developed with good combination play on our left side between Francisco Arroyo, Brandon Sanchez and Pasco,” Ybarra said.
Pasco crossed the ball to Acosta, who beat the Eintracht goalkeeper at the far post.
Garcia scored his goal on a brilliantly struck free kick.
“He beat the goalkeeper with a right-footed, bending and dropping ball over the defensive wall to the near post from 25 yards out,” Ybarra described.
Santa Barbara went 3-0 in pool play, outscoring their opponents 9-2. The team will play the San Diego Surf Academy in a quarterfinal match on Thursday.
Find complete results from Group Play HERE
