It was one and done for No. 7 Pitman varsity boys soccer team after they hosted No. 10 Tracy at home in the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-II playoffs and lost 1-0 in double overtime after a tightly contested game that ended in a scoreless stalemate after regulation.
“The game was not played how we wanted to play. We kind of came out slow, I think mentally we were prepared, but there was the choppiness of the game,” said Pitman head coach Brian Hofsteen. “We put some new players in and we switched the lineup…it was disappointing.”
Pitman ends the season having lost back-to-back games for the first and only time during the year and tallied an overall record of 12-6-6.
The first half proved to be a stalemate after Tracy handled possession for majority of the half and struck at the back of the net on several occasions.
Pride goalkeeper Vlad Montejo stayed busy and kept his team in it, with the senior finishing with well over a dozen saves for the game.
“He had at least a dozen saves; the intensity was there and he played an incredible game today,” said Hofsteen. “He saved us at the end, the PK save then the recovery, and recovery save as well, he got that one. Had a nice save at the end of the half and played a great game in his last year as a senior, I am very proud of him.”
Most notably was his save with two minutes remaining in regulation and a penalty was called.
Montejo dove to the left and made a critical save followed by a recovery save after Tracy managed to get the rebound off the first saved shot.
Pitman continued to press in the second half but couldn’t find the back of the net, despite controlling the ball on the attacking third of Tracy.
“It’s almost as if we woke up in the second half, a little more intensity. Adrenaline started getting in,” said Hofsteen.
Montejo made a crucial save to end the first half of overtime, but in the second half of OT, Chris Barron of Tracy finally put the game out of reach with a goal at the far corner after beating over four defenders, including the final one.
“Extremely happy with how they played,” Hofsteen added. “Great team and great group of guys. A lot to build on since we are so young and I think next year we will have as a good year if not better; looking forward to it, we all are.”
