Soccer at Santa Ana Stadium : Herediano Beats Olimpia, Earns Berth in Final
Eduardo Mendez scored the game’s only goal midway through the overtime period to give the Herediano Club of Costa Rica a 1-0 victory over Olimpia of Honduras in the North American semifinals of the Camel World Class soccer tournament Sunday in front of an estimated 5,000 at Santa Ana Stadium.
Mendez’s goal, which came with 14 minutes gone in overtime, was set up when Marvin Obando’s line-drive shot caromed off Olimpia goalie Belamino Rivera in front of the net. Mendez kicked in the loose ball for the score.
Herediano, which will play the University of Guadalajara team of Mexico in the North American finals Sept. 11 at the Coliseum, saw Olimpia make several desperate efforts to tie the score as time ran out in overtime. But the Herediano defense blunted the Olimpia threats to hold on to the win and the $20,000 team cash prize for advancing to the North American finals.
“We didn’t do anything special tactically, we just had good luck going for us,” Herediano Coach Antonio Moyano said through an interpreter. “We are not well-trained at this time, but we’ll do a lot better against Guadalajara.”
Guadalajara earned its spot in the finals by defeating Toluca of Mexico, 2-1, in its semifinal game Aug. 21 at the Coliseum.
Herediano goalie Alexis Rojas was kept busy throughout the contest by an aggressive Olimpia offense which peppered him with several low shots in the second half. Rojas, who finished the game with 17 saves, made one of his saves with two minutes left in regulation when he sprawled in front of his net to save a ground-level shot by Olimpia’s Javier Flores.
Rojas, who made eight saves in the first half, was supported during that span by his defense, which forced Olimpia attackers to shoot the ball from well outside the penalty area.
The Herediano offense, which was quiet for most of the first half, had its share of second-half opportunities. One such chance came with 15 minutes left in regulation when Rivera dived to stop a short, low shot by Roberto Carmona.
Olimpia earned its spot in the semifinals by defeating Atlas of Mexico, 2-0, July 26 at San Antonio, Tex.; while the Costa Rican entry gained its berth by scoring a 3-1 victory over Alante of Mexico, 3-1, in its quarterfinal game July 16 at El Paso, Tex.
