Providence boys’ soccer season ends in CIF second round
TORRANCE — Playing a man down and trailing in the second half, the Providence High boys’ soccer team battled back.
Despite being short-handed for a large portion of their CIF Southern Section Division VII second-round playoff contest Wednesday afternoon, the Pioneers found a way to come back and tie the score against Lawndale Environmental Charter.
However, following the tying goal, the Providence offense went dry and the Tigers tallied two unanswered goals to end the Pioneers’ season with a 4-2 loss at Columbia Park in Torrance.
The loss ends a historical season for Providence (11-5-1). The Pioneers won their second straight Independence League championship and notched the program’s first playoff win with a 5-0 first-round victory against La Sierra Academy on Friday.
“I thought our seniors played tremendously this season,” Providence coach Ronald Neef said. “I think a lot of people didn’t think we would go that far this season because we have some many freshmen; at points this season we had five freshmen starring and four started today.
“I’m really proud of what these guys have been able to accomplish this season. They exceeded my expectations. Today was gravy for me. Getting that playoff win told me all I needed to know about this team and if I had any doubts the heart they showed this afternoon, playing a man down and fighting until the very end, really proved that.”
The win was historic for Environmental Charter (12-2-1), the runner-up from the Mulholland League, as the team advanced past the second round for the first time in the 13-year history of the school.
A pivotal point in the match came in the 26th minute with the score tied at 1. The Tigers’ Edwin Reyes Matias took a free kick that caught Providence goalkeeper Isaac DiSalvo out of position. The ball was headed to the right side of an open goal when Joshua Bamba jumped up and stopped the shot with his hands in the box.
Bamba was given a red card, forcing the Pioneers to play a man down for the remainder of the contest. Environmental Charter was also given a penalty kick that was converted by Justin Sanchez to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
“So much of this game is about spacing and formation; when you are down to 10 players you are sacrificing a midfielder basically, and that’s what we had to do,” Neef said. “To be down a man for than amount of time, if nothing else, it’s tough and it really wears on the guys.”
Providence was able to keep the Tigers from adding to their lead for the rest of the first half and went into halftime down by one.
In the second half, the Pioneers surged back to tie the score at 2 in the 48th minute. Paul Swaine got control of the ball, dribbled down the left side in deep and angled a shot that beat keeper Andrew Recinos for a goal to tie things up.
“It was a really hard game and we were able to fight our way back despite being down a man,” Swaine said. “I’m really proud of the way that we played being without one guy.
“When we tied it 2-2 I really thought we were back in in, but sadly we weren’t able to hold on for the win.”
Reyes Matias put Environmental Charter in front, 3-2, with a goal in the 50th minute. He also scored in stoppage time.
In the 77nd minute, Elias Ferguson dribbled down the right side and missed with a shot that skipped past the goal. Seconds later, a shot by Ortiz in deep went wide right.
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead 22 minutes into the game on a goal from Nicholas Miron.
Providence answered back a minute later to tie the score at 1 on a wicked, bending shot by Bryan Ortiz from 40 yards out.
“Looking on the bright side, we might have lost today, but as a team we did make history,” Swaine said. “And I think we all can be proud of that.”
Twitter: @jefftsports
