With two minutes left in overtime, the Mountain Lions broke the tied score against Modesto Junior College at De Anza’s soccer pitch on Nov. 19. The referee blew the final whistle, calling the 2-1 match, when De Anza’s baseball team excitedly rushed the field, embracing athletes of the victorious soccer team.
Modesto rarely broke De Anza’s 45 minutes of possession in the half. Guided by the most communicative player on the pitch, goalkeeper Carlos Balthazar (De Anza No. 1) 19, human development major, instructed his team to close gaps the opponent may take advantage of.
“You got to be extra loud,” Balthazar said. “You have to come off the field losing your voice.”
Balthazar was only expected to play in the event of penalty kicks, but when starting goalie Luc Narido (De Anza No. 0) received an injury to his leg, Balthazar was substituted in.
The scoreless game flipped when the athletes came back from the halftime break. De Anza’s top scorer of the season Ryan Corcoran (De Anza No. 9) 19, business administration major, received a pass in an advantageous position between Modesto’s final defender and its goalie.
Corcoran dashed towards goal with long-strided dribbles and a defender in pursuit, where he met goalkeeper Nate Dip (Modesto No. 33) at the edge of the 18-yard box. Dip dove in an attempt to snatch the ball with his body or hands, but Corcoran’s sidestep found the angle for a smooth pass into the white netting.
“I got an incredible pass from Brady (De Anza No. 33),” Corcoran said. “You can ask a lot of us, we don’t really think much when playing, it’s just instinct and I’ve handled this situation enough in practice that it’s just, doing it one more time.”
Between the fans were reserved soccer coaches from Division I programs such as San Jose State University as well as West Valley College’s coaches who will face De Anza on Saturday for round two of regionals.
Modesto answered back by sending a ball into De Anza’s goal box, met by forward Giovanni Perez (Modesto No. 7) 19, nursing and fire science major, who knocked a one-touch shot that hit the goal post and Reyes Juarez, midfielder (Modesto No. 6) found the rebound and spent no time burying it in the net before Balthazar can block it.
The tied game entered overtime – two 15-minute halves, a time extension reserved for postseason matches. In the first two minutes of the second overtime half, Keven “PeeWee” Orocio (De Anza No. 14) 19, business administration major and Dip slammed into each other.
The harsh thumping sound made at contact was immediately followed by yells from both teams. After Dip landed on Orocio, he rose with his goalie glove in the air, a sign that he did not foul Orocio, only to lay on the ground once again.
The referee decided a yellow card was appropriate for Orocio, his second of the match. De Anza’s coaching staff are contesting the call which led to Orocio’s immediate ejection from the match and suspension from the next.
Modesto managed one win during its conference season, making them an unlikely contender for regionals and the underdog going into the match against De Anza’s seven conference wins. At halftime, Modesto focused and increased its ball possession and goal scoring opportunities against the team they tied 3-3 in the preseason.
“If anything, we had nothing to lose and we proved something today,” Modesto’s top scorer Perez said. “It sucked that our communication started towards the second half, when it’s one-one and it’s life or death.”
De Anza and West Valley will compete for a spot in round three of the NorCal regional playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 22 at West Valley College.
