Prep Report: Bulldogs clip Seahawks 1-0
In order for the Ida Baker Bulldogs to get their first-ever soccer victory over the visiting Cape Coral Seahawks Monday night, the Bulldogs knew they needed a big game from junior goalkeeper Jose Zuniga.
Zuniga already had made several crucial saves when midway through the first half he was shaken up in a collision with Cape’s Andrew Torres.
After the Bulldogs gathered as a team during the injury timeout, Zuniga limped back to his position in front of the goal.
“I think he would’ve had to have a broken leg to come out of the game,” Baker coach Mick Whitewood said. “He came over because they had to stop play, but we would’ve had to tie him down to keep him there.”
Zuniga set the tone with his toughness and key first-half saves in the Bulldogs’ hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Seahawks.
In the second half, the Bulldogs picked up their intensity and it led to more offense. They got the lone goal with 15 minutes remaining when Nick Presti headed in a corner kick from Harvey Rincon.
The Bulldogs (8-4-3) defense held strong after that, preserving their first win over the Seahawks (5-6-4).
“We’ve been the whipping boys for a few years,” said Whitewood. “These guys worked hard and got a great result.”
Monday’s game is the second meeting of the season between the District 5A-12 rivals. They picked up where they left off in the first battle, which ended in a 2-2 tie.
Seniors Torres, Mario Montes and Kenny Segura sparked Cape early on. They produced three scoring chances in the first eight minutes of the match.
Five minutes in, Torres fed Montes on a strong drive, but Zuniga made a diving save. Montes came back two minutes later and created his own chance faking two defenders, but his shot went wide right of the goal.
In the eighth minute, Segura passed to Torres inside the 18-yard box, but Zuniga, again, was made the save.
A key moment came with 20 minutes left in the first half when Torres charged in and got tangled up with Zuniga. Whitewood said Zuniga, who injured a rib during their recent holiday tournament, was cleated on the leg Monday.
“Now he has a sore leg, too,” Whitewood said. “Without Jose we wouldn’t have been in the game. He made some fantastic saves in the first half. He’s been performing consistently all year.”
Overall the Seahawks continued to attack in the first half, outshooting the Bulldogs 6-3. The momentum shifted in the second half as the Bulldogs became more assertive.
They had several strong chances before Presti finally connected on the header with 15 minutes remaining.
“I wasn’t happy with our first half performance and I let them know that in the dressing room,” Whitewood said. “I said just go out there and win every ball and they picked it up in the second half.”
Anthony Frederick, Santiago Vanegas, Diego Ferron and Brian Leon were among the defensive standouts for the Bulldogs, who kept the Seahawks from tying it late.
The Seahawks battled hard throughout. They got eight saves from freshman goalkeeper Daniel Santi Villamil, but weren’t able to apply the same offensive pressure in the second half as they did early in the game.
“We never quite found the rhythm in the second half we had in the first half,” Cape coach Aldo Nardiello said. “I thought we had some good moments and created some opportunities, but Zuniga made some beautiful saves.
“The name of the game is to put one in and they did that,” Nardiello added.
Cape travels to Mariner for another rivalry game Thursday night. Baker hosts Lehigh Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
The Baker girls take on Lehigh at 6 p.m. in the inaugural Breast Cancer Awareness benefit game.
Mariner 4, Cypress Lake 1: Four different players scored goals to carry Mariner to victory at Cypress Lake.
Senior Matt Lott got the scoring started for the Tritons with an unassisted goal in the first half. Julio Perez, Travis Edward and Gabby Rojas tacked on goals in the second half with Tyler Korytkowski and Stephan Williams earning assists.
Goalkeeper Renato Proia made six saves before giving way to Matt Brust. Cypress got its lone goal in the final 30 seconds.
Mariner (8-8-3) visits East Lee County Tuesday night.
Girls Soccer
Ida Baker 2, Evangelical Christian 1: Two goals in the second half within five minutes of each other brought Ida Baker back from a 1-0 deficit to beat Evangelical Christian Monday night.
“Coming back off the break, the game was not very exciting, but we’ll get back into it quickly,” said Baker coach Dave Trepkowski.
Less than two minutes after ECS scored the game’s first goal, Payton Van Horn lofted a shot over the head of the Sentinels’ keeper for the tying score, assisted by Christine Giles. Five minutes later, Giles put one high in the net over the keeper for the game-winner, assisted by Alli Hare.
Bulldogs keeper Natalia Ortiz was credited with 12 saves.
The Bulldogs (12-3-3) host Lehigh Tuesday in a Breast Cancer Awareness benefit game.
Cypress Lake 3, Mariner 1: A second-half goal by Amanda Seny tied the game, but only for a brief time as Mariner lost at Cypress Lake.
Alyssa Barry assisted on Seny’s goal and goalkeeper Brittany Steeb made 14 saves as the Tritons slipped to 9-6-1 on the season. They host East Lee County Tuesday night.
Sports editor Jim Linette contributed to this report.