CHS boys struggling on the pitch

Getting set defensively for the Panthers are Guillermo Esquival (No. 20) and exchange student Giacomo Filgheddu (No. 5) during the season opener against Hillsboro. Photo by Lance Masterson

Not being able to stop dead ball plays provided opponents of the Panthers’ varsity boys soccer team with renewed energy and confidence.

Central fell 2-0 to Class 5A Hillsboro on Sept. 3, and 4-0 to Class 6A Franklin on Thursday. The first goal in each contest - and three of six overall - came on corner kicks.

“We’re a very young team, a lot of sophomores and freshmen, and we’re making a young team’s errors,” Central coach Jose Becerra said. “We need to get better in marking up, making sure we’re jumping or contesting for balls, not being scared of balls in the air.”

Maintaining focus will help.

“One thing we could do better is not fall asleep during the corners and when the other team is running a specially designed play,” said Guillermo Esquivel, a Panther senior.

Perhaps more than in any other sport, first goals in soccer are significant enough to sway not only momentum, but quite possibly outcomes. That may have been the case in the season opener.

“I think if we put one in before Hillsboro we win,” Becerra said. “We were dominating, but we just couldn’t get a goal. If we put one in before them, and shut them down a little more, maybe we win. But then they get the corner. That changed the game for both of us.”

The Panthers struggled to maintain their physical and mental edge once they found themselves trailing, Esquivel said.

“Conceding the first goal is always really bad,” he added. “You go down. Your team goes down. Your intensity goes down.”

Photo by Lance Masterson

It was a similar story against Franklin, in that the tone of the match changed with one kick.

“They had us more on our half, but they weren’t really dangerous. And then they got a corner kick 20 minutes in,” Becerra said. “It’s just the little mistakes that we cannot allow to happen, especially on set plays, on dead balls.”

The Tigers added another corner goal later in the match.

“When they scored those two goals, nobody really challenged them at all,” Esquivel said of his defense. “They just stood there, watched the ball and jumped up at the header. That’s how (it) went.”

If Esquivel never sees another corner kick it will be too soon.

“I don’t want to concede anymore corners,” he said. “I feel that we’ve already given up enough.”

Fixing what ails the Panthers is simple, in theory.

“We’re just going to have to grow throughout the season,” Becerra added.

Overall, Becerra is pleased with his team’s defensive effort, though potential for improvement is there. As the Panthers gave up just two goals when the ball was in motion through the first two matches.

“I like what I’m seeing. We’re trying to play. We’re trying to touch the ball. For a lot of (the players), this is their first time ever playing varsity level,” Becerra said. “So I like the spirit of the team. The willingness to learn and fight on the field. It’s just that our mistakes, little mistakes, are hurting us”

Becerra is more worried about his team’s performance at the other end of the pitch. As in his team’s inability to find net. As in two shutouts in two outings.

“Goals,” Becerra said, when asked what he wants from his offense.

He added, “I want more determination from the boys up there. Determination to want to beat their guy. Determination to take shots … That’s our missing link.”

A few goals could go a long way toward reversing the season’s trajectory.

“I’m happy with the defense. I’m happy with the midfield,” Becerra said. “I just feel our final third, our three guys up top, we haven’t really found who they’re going to be. We just need someone who is really determined to beat their guy and get us a goal.”

Photo by Lance Masterson

Update:

It was more of the same last week.

The Panthers fell to Tigard, 8-0, on. Sept. 10 and 4-1 to Barlow on Tuesday. The goal against the Bruins was the team’s first of the season.

Central (0-0, 0-4 overall) concludes its preseason schedule with a trip to Canby on Tuesday.

Mid-Willamette Conference play begins Tuesday, Oct. 1, when the Panthers host the RedHawks of South Albany.

Both of these matches are at 7 p.m.