Rio Mesa Slogs to Victory in Mud

Say this for members of the Rio Mesa High boys’ soccer team: they’ve proven themselves as mudders.

Playing a first-round Southern Section Division II playoff game Friday at Canyon, the Spartans slogged their way to a 2-0 victory on a field comprised of patches of firm turf amid a sea of mud and standing water.

Up to four inches deep in spots, the mud reduced two teams capable of playing a short-passing game to playing kickball and flailing about.

“Any time you have a chance to shoot, you have to take it because the defense overruns balls and has a hard time getting back,” Rio Mesa forward Bryan Monka said.

Monka, a lanky junior with a bushy goatee, gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead 22 minutes into the second half when he knocked in Jacob Beck’s cross with his chest. The strike was Monka’s 14th goal.

Beck’s kick was set up when Canyon defender Jason Nenadov was yellow-carded for fouling David Cervantes just outside the left edge of the penalty area.

With 14 minutes to play, Cervantes scored his 29th goal in 23 games. Rio Mesa midfielder Keith Yanov began the play by cutting off a Canyon clearing attempt at the top of the penalty area.

As the Cowboy defense charged toward him, Yanov passed to Cervantes in the center of the box and the forward scored from five yards.

Rio Mesa advances to play Channel League-rival San Marcos in a second-round game at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Rio Mesa. San Marcos, the league champion, defeated the Spartans once and the teams tied once in the regular season.

Friday, Rio Mesa (15-6-4), the No. 4 representative from the Channel League, and Canyon (15-7-1), the Foothill League champion, were frustrated by field conditions and inconsistent officiating.

Players attempting to dribble found the footing treacherous. Those trying long kicks found the ball waterlogged. An unusually high five free kicks inside the penalty areas were awarded.

“We played [poorly] but the ref ruined it for us,” Canyon captain Jimmy Giordano said. “He’d let us play for 10 minutes and then make five calls in the next five minutes.”

Monka, who absorbed numerous elbows, kicks and shoves, said he had to bite his lip at times.

“Many times I’ve gotten mad at the refs but if I had here, in a playoff game, it would have taken my mind away from the game,” he said.

Rio Mesa hopes to repeat its success of two seasons ago when it advanced to the Division II semifinals as the Channel League’s fourth playoff entry.

That season, the Spartans opened league play 0-4. This season, Rio Mesa put itself in an 0-3 league hole before receiving an at-large playoff bid.