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ARCHIVES

Pirates edged in fight for first

By Kevin Klein / Sports Writer / kklein@syvnews.com

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Santa Ynez midfielder Kaci Mexico maneuvers around a St. Joseph opponent during an important Los Padres League girls soccer game at Santa Ynez High on Thursday night. St. Joseph won 2-1.//Bryan Walton/Staff

When the referee blew the final whistle at the end of the Santa Ynez/St. Joseph soccer game, a shocked group of Pirates walked to their sidelines in unfamiliar territory.

In contrast — with the score frozen at 2-1 in favor of the Knights — the St. Joe girls sprinted across the wet Pirate Stadium turf in jubilation.

Although only halfway through the Los Padres League season, these differing emotions showed the weight that this contest held between the league’s top two teams.

“Santa Ynez has been the class of the LPL for a long time, they’re a great team, and every championship run has to go through Santa Ynez,” St. Joseph head coach Landon Reid said.

The Knights, a perfect

5-0 in league play, now have the inside track in the race to the LPL title.

The defending LPL champion Pirates sit at

4-1 in league and eye a

Feb. 11 rematch that looks to decide who takes home the coveted league title.

“It’s always a tough, close battle,” Santa Ynez coach Rob Cantrell said of the building rivalry between the two schools. “We had a couple marking mistakes that lead to them scoring their goals ... you can’t leave them unaccounted for and we did it twice.”

In the 60th minute, St. Joseph’s Taylor Will was uncovered deep in Santa Ynez territory. A perfect cross from Sara Epps left Will with nothing but open space ahead of her.

The junior forward drove 10 yards into the box and laced the eventual game winner past back-up goalkeeper Ericka Diaz, giving the Knights a 2-0 lead.

The Knights held the Pirates’ offense scoreless, bottling up top forwards Alisa Silsbee and Emily Ineman, until the 77th minute when Silsbee knocked in a dropped ball by the St. Joe keeper.

“It starts with Ineman and Silsbee and we knew that coming in, so we shifted to compensate for their speed up front, their touches and both their abilities to shoot from 30 yards in and the girls did good with that,” Reid said.

Diaz was in the match after starting goalie Jessica Mauk injured her knee following a collision with Epps. Following the game, Cantrell said Mauk would be okay.

The Pirates were not without their opportunities as they outshot the Knights 12-6, many of which came in a furious comeback attempt in the closing minutes.

The Pirates play Lompoc Thursday in Santa Ynez, but it is that February rematch that looms large on the schedule.

“I can’t wait,” Cantrell said wryly.

January 26, 2010