Unrelenting and intense aggression was the difference that edged Santa Teresa to a slim 2-1 victory at Willow Glen in Blossom Valley Athletic League-Mount Hamilton Division action Saturday afternoon. Willow Glen is now 7-3 overall, 2-2 in league; Santa Teresa is 3-2-5, 1-1-2.
“It was a very intense game,” Santa Teresa coach Aliou Diallo said. “They've got heart for the game, and they earned the win. We fought for it.”
Midfielder Emilio Rios put the Saints ahead early in the first half with a shot from the left side that grazed the goalie's hands but made contact with the top right corner of the net before the goalie could recover the ball.
However in the 23rd minute, Willow Glen took advantage of a penalty kick to tie the game 1-1.
Santa Teresa senior Ivan Ramirez ended the first half—and eventually the game—with a straight shot down the middle 15 yards out the flew over the goalie, settling the score 2-1.
The second half remained for the most part very quiet. Although in the last 10 minutes of the game Willow Glen had several opportunities to score off of free kicks. However, the Saints defended well and eventually walked away with the 2-1 win.
The overall atmosphere of the game was intense, due mostly to the roughness of Santa Teresa's defense that earned them several warnings from the referee and even a couple yellow cards.
Not to say that Willow Glen did not serve up its own aggression, especially within their own defense as well, including left wing Graham Moore, who proved also to be quick on his feet when recovering the ball. The Rams passed the ball extremely well out of the back, using their goalie a lot to send the ball up field for the offense.
However, Willow Glen's offense struggled to push past the Santa Teresa defense, as they were mostly being driven into corners by their outside wings to make it more difficult to cross the ball into the goal box.
Santa Teresa visits Yerba Buena Monday, while Willow Glen hosts first-place Willow Glen.
