Providence boys’ soccer loses first-round playoff amid severe conditions

EAGLE ROCK — With severe wind gusts and an unrelenting rain, the conditions were difficult for soccer Friday afternoon.

Despite the inclement weather, the Providence High and Verbum Dei boys’ teams went ahead with their CIF Southern Section Division VII first-round match on a soggy Occidental College field.

Both teams had problems controlling the ball and, because of puddling on the artificial surface, long runs were nearly impossible and playing a possession game was out of the question.

The Eagles were able to play through the tough conditions better than the Pioneers, as Verbum Dei earned a 5-0 victory.

The match was called by the officials with 20 minutes remaining in the second half.

“They called it early and they didn’t say anything to me at all,” Providence Coach Ron Neef said. “It’s kind of surprising to my why they would do that. Guys are out working hard, it’s a playoff game and we have already played a good portion of the game. It wasn’t raining any heavier when they called it then it was at the beginning of the game. At least let the guys finish it.”

With the loss, the Pioneers ended their season at 7-6 after winning the Independence League championship for the first time in four seasons. Verbum Dei, which placed third in the Santa Fe League and had to win a wild-card match to earn a place in Friday’s first round, improved to 12-6-2.

“It’s so hard to play in something like this,” Providence’s Elias Ferguson said. “You try and pass the ball and it just stops. It was really hard for us to get anything going and it was kind of frustrating at times. But both teams had to play in it, so it went both ways.”

The Eagles broke through with a goal in the 18th minute by Jose Gutierrez. Verbum Dei made it 2-0 on a goal in the 21st minute. On the play, Providence goalkeeper Danny Villeda was injured and had to leave the game. Villeda had played well in net with five saves.

Verbum Dei increased its lead to 3-0 with Gutierrez’ second goal in the 39th minute. The goal was a perfect example of how the conditions affected the game. On the play, Gutierrez dribbled in 30 yards from the goal and the ball squirted in front of him. Providence goalkeeper Westan Tengan came out and waited for the rolling ball to get to him. Instead, the ball stopped short because of a puddle, Gutierrez caught up to it and when Tengan tried to retreat, the Eagles player put the shot past him into the goal.

“These conditions were about as bad as it could get without the game being called,” Neef said. “I coached in Canada and we played in snow. But really the tough thing today was the wind; that made it very difficult.

“But I’m proud of my guys, they worked hard, they played hard and they were out there making the best of it.”

With a 3-0 lead at the half, Verbum Dei added scores in the 48th and 56th minute before the contest was call in the 60th minute.