Wilson statistically dominated it’s first CIF Southern Section Division 1 boys’ soccer game in five years against visiting Katella on Thursday night, but that wasn’t enough. The teams ended up going to penalty kicks tied 1-1 after some thrilling run of play, and the Bruins advanced to the second round on Saturday at Mira Costa thanks to a 5-3 shootout victory.
Katella (9-7-4) took the lead in the second minute thanks to a turnover in the Wilson end and a cracking finish from Mateo Erazo.
“Our whole group just didn’t start the game like they should,” Wilson coach C.J. Brewer said. “We weren’t playing our style. We’ve been possession and ball on the ground working together as a team. We shouldn’t have gone to PKs.”
Wilson (15-6-4) dominated the rest of the game statistically— outshooting Katella 16-8 while holding the Knights to three shots on goal. A lot of those chances were created by long balls forward from midfielders like captain Javi Cervantes.
“I knew from the beginning that I’d have a big role in the game,” Cervantes said. “My teammates were pushing me to do my best and the result came in, thank God.”
The Bruins equalized in the 18th minute when Cervantes found fellow senior Gustavo Cervantes over the top, and he was fouled just outside the 18-yard box. The resulting free kick from Gustavo took a deflection and went in to tie the game and cap the scoring.
Center forward Carlos Mota was key for Wilson, and the Bruins looked to go though him on almost every attack. His header at the end of regulation that went off of the cross bar nearly ended it before the penalty kicks.
“At the start of overtime we knew all we needed was one chance, but sometimes things don’t happen the way you want, so we had to get it done the dirty way,” Mota said. “You never know, it’s Division 1, and any team can beat any team.”
Wilson went first in the shootout as Gustavo Cervantes and Jared Dissman covered to give the home team a 2-1 advantage.
The Bruins had backup goalkeeper Oscar Guzman in for the entire game because of a red card in the regular season finale. The senior said he was more nervous before kickoff than he was before the PKs.
“They really counted on me,” Guzman said of his team. “We’ve been working on PKs all week and I knew I had it.”
The second Katella attempt went off of the crossbar, and then Wilson sophomore Daniel Cervantes, freshman Anthony Garcia and Javi Cervantes clinched the victory 5-3.
“There’s no pressure,” Cervantes said of the PK. “I just block all the hate and put it in the net. We went into the game confident but the nerves went to our head. We knew we were up against a good team.”
Wilson came into the game with only one playoff win in the last five seasons. This is the first year Katella hasn’t won at least 10 games since reaching the Division 3 semifinal in 2014.
STATISTICS
Shots: Wilson 16, Katella 8
Fouls: Wilson 14, Katella 19
Yellow Cards: Wilson 2, Katella 4
Corner Kicks: Wilson 5, Katella 2
Offsides: Wilson 2, Katella 0
