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Badgers face 2-1 post season loss

Mike Hackworth

(Updated: Thursday, February 25, 2010, 1:25 PM)

In its first playoff appearance in more than five years, the Yosemite High School boys soccer team ran afoul with injuries and illness losing a tight first-round playoff match to the Clovis North Broncos last Tuesday in Clovis. Playing without team co-captain Roman Morales, co-captain Matt Ruddock suffering an injured knee and goalkeeper and co-captain Justin Webb fighting the flu, the Badgers (6-5-2, 6-1-2 NSL) still fought until the final whistle.

"After a game is over, you sit down and figure out what happened," said Head Badger coach Ron Cox. "It was just several little things, like the weekly routine (practice schedule) with no school and then when we got down there, the warm weather also took a toll."

The Broncos came out strong, putting a shot in the goal in the first minute of the match. The Badgers defense spent much of the first half in Yosemite's side of the field, bending the Badger defense.

"The team played very good soccer," Cox said. "I'm very proud of them."

Clovis (6-10-1, 4-2 C/ML) floated a shot toward the goal and the first half ended with Yosemite trailing 1-0.

Shortly after the start of the second half, the Badgers game-tying score was negated by an off sides penalty.

Midway into the half, the Badgers did tie the score when Gian Grillo took a cross by junior center midfielder Mitchell Friesen and fired the ball past the Clovis North goalkeeper and into the net.

Defense by both teams kept the match even for much of the second half. The Broncos took a 2-1 lead late in the second half of play when a Bronco forward fired a crossing pass into the net.

From the sideline

The Badgers did not allow more than two goals in any game this year, during both the pre- and regular season. The Broncos victory celebration was short lived when they were defeated 1-0 at Dinuba.

Senior Roman Morales' season ended when he suffered a separated shoulder in a collision with the Kerman goalkeeper Feb. 2.

The Badgers will lose four seniors to graduation, Morales, Webb, Ruddock and Evan Brase, who was the teams' jack-of-all-trades. "Evan played every position for us this season," Cox said. "He did what ever was needed to succeed."

The Badgers were third in the Central Section academically, maintaining a collective 3.5 GPA for the season.