Advosports

They did everything their coach asked of them. But one break for one moment went against Victoria West.

And it ended up costing them the game.

Effort wasn't the issue for Victoria West (8-6-3) on Thursday in its Class 4A bi-district game against Tuloso-Midway.

Rather, it was one small break, an anticlimactic roll of the ball on a misjudged ball by all sides that cost them a 1-0 decision and knocked the Warriors out of the playoffs.

"It's just frustrating, but that's just the playoffs," said West coach Bill Tally. "Sometimes you're the unlucky one. I haven't felt like this before after any loss."

It was one off of a play by that goalkeeper, junior Joseph Segura, that led to the only goal of the game with a little less than 16 minutes left to go in the game.

After stopping an attempt at the opposite end of the field, Segura sent a booming kick down the field that caught the wind. It sailed over the Warriors midfielders and defenders, and was picked up by senior forward Aaron Smith.

West goalkeeper Juan Gonzalez moved out to challenge him as his defensive help caught up, and led to a pileup 30 yards outside of the net.

The ball skittered away and into the net for the only goal of the game.

"I told the guys heading into the playoffs, one mistake can cost you the game," Tally said. "We had chances all throughout the game, but their goalkeeper had an amazing game.

"We had a lot of chances, not sure if it was more than them. But they just didn't go in."

A big part of it was the strong wind coming from the southeast. When the two teams switched sides at the half, it put West playing into the wind. It hurt them several times, including on the T-M's lone goal.

"It's tough with the wind in the second half," Tallly said. "Their goalkeeper had a big strong kick and the ball would land in the mid-area. It's tough to judge those."

The Warriors challenged Segura at every turn throughout the first half, peppering him with chances from the corner and several breakaway.

Ernesto Perez had several chances in front of the net, and the team's chances on corner kicks were either snagged by Segura or rejected by the defense.

After the goal, the Warriors continued to generate chances, but to no avail.

Hector Mendoza was off the mark several times on net, but most painful were Perez and Fabian Sanchez's chances in the final six minutes that missed just wide of the goal.

"From my angle, they all looked real close," Tally said. "I kept thinking one was going to groove in."

The Warriors, though, played a strong game regardless. They held momentum on offense most of the game and got strong performances from goalkeepers Zabdiel Vallejo, who played the first half, and Gonzalez, who played the second.

One thing, Tally said, was always there for this team: a strong effort, win or lose.

"We had some big losses early on, and some big wins," Tally said. "The effort has always been there. That's why I love these kids so much and probably why this hurts so much."

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