Dos Pueblos’ Taylor Gustason gets off a shot with San Marcos defender Kameron Bebb in close proximity. (Presidio Sports Photo)
Quinn Peacock wasn’t in the pool the last time San Marcos and Dos Pueblos met, which turned out to be a victory for the Royals.
In Tuesday’s second league match between the two teams – with first place in the Channel League on the line – Peacock was there for the Chargers and came through with a team-high four goals in a 13-9 win for Dos Pueblos.
Peacock didn’t play in the first meeting because of a game misconduct and said he felt like he let down his team.
“It really shows that when I’m in the game, I make a difference, and when I’m not, I’m a detriment to my team,” Peacock said. “I’ve realized that and none of that will happen anymore.”
All four of Peacock’s goals came in the second half as Dos Pueblos extended its lead from 5-4 at the break to 10-5 in the third quarter.
But San Marcos wasn’t ready to concede. They had rallied in the second half to beat Dos Pueblos the first time around after all
Jesse Morrison converted a perimeter shot on a San Marcos man-advantage, followed by a goal less than a minute later when George Kuesis passed to a fast-swimming Miles Cole for a clear shot at the cage.
The quarter ended 10-7.
“I think we all still felt ok there, that we still had a chance coming into the fourth quarter,” said Royals head coach Jeff Ashton.
Dos Pueblos then scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter – the second by Peacock with 3:50 left in the game – to put the game out of reach. In the end, Peacock led the team in scoring for the first time this season.
“It felt fantastic, I don’t think I’ve played a better game in my life,” Peacock said.
Three other Chargers scored three goals each: Taylor Gustason, Blake Parrish and Kelley Reynolds. After having four players foul out in the first match against San Marcos, Chargers head coach Chris Parrish was thankful to have his complete arsenal available to close it out.
“We knew that if we put people in the right positions, in an opportunity again, they were going to seal it,” Parrish said. “We have enough good players on this team that you can’t just take one player out.”
Jake Griffin had a team-high four assists while sophomore Dylan Elliott had three assists and two steals. Kyle Krutenat stopped 10 shots in the cage.
The Chargers never trailed. Griffin found a driving Parrish for the game’s first goal just 19 seconds in. Morrison tied it 1-1 until two successive goals by Gustason gave the Chargers the lead for good.
“I think we played pretty well defensively for the most part, especially in the front-court,” Ashton said. “I think we gave up some counter goals that we shouldn’t have given up. If I had to point to one thing, that would be the difference.”
Dos Pueblos takes over first place with a 5-1 record while San Marcos falls to 4-1. San Marcos has Ventura on Thursday before traveling to the Pal Memorial Tournament in Orange County. The Chargers have a bye on Thursday before going north to the Memorial Tournament in Palo Alto. Both teams have a pair of league games next week that will determine playoff positioning and the league champion.
