SOCCER: Palmdale comes back to tie it, but misses playoffs
Feb. 13, 2014
By ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press Assistant Sports Editor
PALMDALE — Seven minutes into the game that would decide whether the Jarrod Cline era at Palmdale would see another day, the Falcons boys soccer team found itself in a 2-0 hole against Littlerock.
Not exactly the start Cline envisioned in what he hoped wouldn't be his last game.
"We knew we needed to win this game," said Cline, the nine-year Palmdale coach who's stepping down after this season. "A tie wasn't going to be good enough so we had to go for it."
In going for it, the Falcons (8-10-8, 4-4-6 GL) could do no better than an exciting 4-4 draw against a Lobos squad (8-3-5, 7-3-4) that started off looking dominant but ended up back on its heels.
The tie only served as a moral victory for Palmdale, which needed to win to grab the last Golden League playoff spot, and signified the end of an age in which Cline led the Falcons to eight straight postseason berths and a couple of deep playoff runs.
"We gave it everything we could," Palmdale senior captain Steve Ramirez said.
For Littlerock, which had already secured its fourth playoff spot in the last five years coming into the game, it was the continuation of its own run of success. The Lobos clinched the second seed in the league behind champion Knight.
But the Lobos, who went into halftime leading 4-2, felt they let one get away and looked disgruntled following the match. A few shed some tears and had to be consoled by their coaches.
"I think because we were up by so much, they feel like they let themselves down," Littlerock coach Gloria Meza said. "But we (the coaches) don't feel like that."
Up by two goals in the blink of an eye, with goals from Ricky Castellanos in the fourth minute and Juan Carlos Perez in the seventh, it looked as if the the Lobos were going to have a feast bigger than the one from Jan. 22 in which they beat Palmdale 3-0 in the first round of league play. Perhaps emotionally charged by pregame recognitions for the seniors and Cline, the Falcons looked out of it.
The two goals also served as a sobering reminder that emotions alone weren't going to win the game for Palmdale.
"We knew they were going to come hard," Littlerock captain Diego Rodriguez said.
Urgency up, the Falcons started to pressure the Littlerock defensive lines. They finally gave in in the 14th minute as a long throw-in found the head of Miguel Ramirez and the ball got past Littlerock goalkeeper Edward Morales to draw Palmdale within 2-1.
Littlerock responded immediately. A minute later, Castellanos blasted a low shot from just outside the Palmdale box to beat goalkeeper Jose Sandoval and gain the two-goal advantage back.
The Falcons grabbed some momentum back by cutting the lead to 3-2 in the 30th minute and seemed on their way to knotting things up when Littlerock's Christian Ramirez stunned them with a goal right before halftime.
"We made some mistakes," Cline said. "Littlerock is the kind of team that, if you make mistakes, they're going to capitalize on them, and that's what they did."
The second half belonged to Palmdale, however. In the 49th minute, Andres Zepeda found a loose ball outside the Littlerock box and shot a grazing bullet to Morales' right goal post to cut the lead to 4-3.
Feeling the coveted win within reach, the Falcons charged ahead spiritedly. Some of that energy turned into fouls, as four Palmdale players saw yellow cards after halftime. Some of it turned into the tying goal in the 73rd minute as once again a long throw-in was headed in, this time by Steve Ramirez.
"We had been practicing (that play)," Cline said. "It was nice to see it come through."
That's as close as Palmdale would get. The final whistle blew, leaving one team out of the playoffs and the other unhappy at wasting a two-goal lead.
"It was a really crazy game," Castellanos said.
Littlerock, a program that was also second in league last season, will have more soccer this year and beyond. For Cline and Palmdale, who won the Golden League last year, it's the end of the line.
It was a good run, to the finish.
"What more can I ask for? When I came here, this program was kind of in shambles. These kids were just thirsty for someone new to come in and respect them and give them a chance and tell them, 'you can do better, you can go to college,'" said an emotional Cline, his voice trailing off. "It's been great, it's been great."
By ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press Assistant Sports Editor
PALMDALE — Seven minutes into the game that would decide whether the Jarrod Cline era at Palmdale would see another day, the Falcons boys soccer team found itself in a 2-0 hole against Littlerock.
Not exactly the start Cline envisioned in what he hoped wouldn't be his last game.
"We knew we needed to win this game," said Cline, the nine-year Palmdale coach who's stepping down after this season. "A tie wasn't going to be good enough so we had to go for it."
In going for it, the Falcons (8-10-8, 4-4-6 GL) could do no better than an exciting 4-4 draw against a Lobos squad (8-3-5, 7-3-4) that started off looking dominant but ended up back on its heels.
The tie only served as a moral victory for Palmdale, which needed to win to grab the last Golden League playoff spot, and signified the end of an age in which Cline led the Falcons to eight straight postseason berths and a couple of deep playoff runs.
"We gave it everything we could," Palmdale senior captain Steve Ramirez said.
For Littlerock, which had already secured its fourth playoff spot in the last five years coming into the game, it was the continuation of its own run of success. The Lobos clinched the second seed in the league behind champion Knight.
But the Lobos, who went into halftime leading 4-2, felt they let one get away and looked disgruntled following the match. A few shed some tears and had to be consoled by their coaches.
"I think because we were up by so much, they feel like they let themselves down," Littlerock coach Gloria Meza said. "But we (the coaches) don't feel like that."
Up by two goals in the blink of an eye, with goals from Ricky Castellanos in the fourth minute and Juan Carlos Perez in the seventh, it looked as if the the Lobos were going to have a feast bigger than the one from Jan. 22 in which they beat Palmdale 3-0 in the first round of league play. Perhaps emotionally charged by pregame recognitions for the seniors and Cline, the Falcons looked out of it.
The two goals also served as a sobering reminder that emotions alone weren't going to win the game for Palmdale.
"We knew they were going to come hard," Littlerock captain Diego Rodriguez said.
Urgency up, the Falcons started to pressure the Littlerock defensive lines. They finally gave in in the 14th minute as a long throw-in found the head of Miguel Ramirez and the ball got past Littlerock goalkeeper Edward Morales to draw Palmdale within 2-1.
Littlerock responded immediately. A minute later, Castellanos blasted a low shot from just outside the Palmdale box to beat goalkeeper Jose Sandoval and gain the two-goal advantage back.
The Falcons grabbed some momentum back by cutting the lead to 3-2 in the 30th minute and seemed on their way to knotting things up when Littlerock's Christian Ramirez stunned them with a goal right before halftime.
"We made some mistakes," Cline said. "Littlerock is the kind of team that, if you make mistakes, they're going to capitalize on them, and that's what they did."
The second half belonged to Palmdale, however. In the 49th minute, Andres Zepeda found a loose ball outside the Littlerock box and shot a grazing bullet to Morales' right goal post to cut the lead to 4-3.
Feeling the coveted win within reach, the Falcons charged ahead spiritedly. Some of that energy turned into fouls, as four Palmdale players saw yellow cards after halftime. Some of it turned into the tying goal in the 73rd minute as once again a long throw-in was headed in, this time by Steve Ramirez.
"We had been practicing (that play)," Cline said. "It was nice to see it come through."
That's as close as Palmdale would get. The final whistle blew, leaving one team out of the playoffs and the other unhappy at wasting a two-goal lead.
"It was a really crazy game," Castellanos said.
Littlerock, a program that was also second in league last season, will have more soccer this year and beyond. For Cline and Palmdale, who won the Golden League last year, it's the end of the line.
It was a good run, to the finish.
"What more can I ask for? When I came here, this program was kind of in shambles. These kids were just thirsty for someone new to come in and respect them and give them a chance and tell them, 'you can do better, you can go to college,'" said an emotional Cline, his voice trailing off. "It's been great, it's been great."