| This game was a Central Coast Section (CCS) Division III Quarterfinal Playoff game at Watsonville High under cloudy skies and dry field conditions. Prospect High was the winner of the Blossom Valley Athletic League - West Valley Division with 15 wins, 4 losses and 2 ties. Prospect had been seeded #8 in the DIII bracket. Santa Cruz was coming into the game with 16 wins, 3 losses, 1 tie and was the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champion. Santa Cruz was seeded #1 in the DIII bracket. The first half started with both teams playing hard and aggressive to control the ball. Santa Cruz appeared to have an edge with their speed and technical abilities. Santa Cruz had 4 shots on goal the first half while Prospect had 1 shot on goal. The half ended - Santa Cruz 0 to Prospect 0. The second half had Santa Cruz immediately applying the pressure to the Prospect goal. Santa Cruz scored a goal in the 41st minute when senior Vince Cheung drilled the ball into the net after the assist from freshman John Chronopoulos. The game then went back and forth with Santa Cruz trying to protect their small lead. Both teams had a few opportunities to score but missed the goal. Prospect scored a goal in the 80th minute to tie the score. Santa Cruz had 1 shot on goal the second half while Prospect had 4 shots on goal. The regulation time ended with the score - Santa Cruz 1 to Prospect 1. The first overtime period was 10 minutes. Both teams did not have a shot on goal and the score remained 1 to 1. The next overtime period was also 10 minutes. During this period, Santa Cruz had 3 shots on goal while Prospect had 2 shots on goal. This period of time also ended with no additional scoring. The next period was a 5 minute sudden death period. Santa Cruz had 1 shot on goal while Prospect had 0 shots on goal. The period ended with no score. The last and final period was another 5 minute sudden death period. During this period there were no shots on goal by either team and no additional scoring. The game was finally decided with a penalty kick shootout. Santa Cruz made their first penalty kick but missed the next three attempts. Prospect scored 3 penalty kicks out of their 4 attempts. Prospect advances after winning the game 3 to 1 in the penalty kick shootout. Senior captain, goalkeeper Kevin Halasz played a good game while having saved 6 shots on goal. The Santa Cruz defense played well and was lead by senior captain Trevor Ross (sweeper), junior Diego Pio (stopper), freshman Slater Meehan (FB) and freshman Tanner Akol (FB). The defense allowed 7 shots on their goal the entire game. The Santa Cruz offensive attack was lead by senior Shakaim Redrovan, senior Cesar Aguilar, senior Vince Cheung, junior Filimon Richardson and freshman John Chronopoulos. This will unfortunately be the last game of the 2008-09 season for the Santa Cruz Cardinals Boys Varsity Soccer Team. The team can be proud of what they accomplished this season. |