Buena Eliminates Simi Valley in Workmanlike, Wild-Card Fashion

With his team down one goal to Simi Valley High early in the second half of a Southern Section Division II wild-card boys’ soccer game on Wednesday, Buena Coach Sean Roche complained that the host Pioneers were stalling.

“Don’t you be worried about the time remaining once we get the lead either,” Roche shouted to an official.

Such a scenario seemed unlikely at the time, yet the Bulldogs, who surrendered the game’s first two goals, rallied for a 3-2 victory.

Brad Workman scored his 17th goal and third of the game on a breakaway in the 75th minute, sending Buena into a first-round game against Rio Mesa at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Simi Valley (12-6-6) led, 2-0, after 35 minutes on Sergio Renes’ 18th goal and one by John Passanante. But the Marmonte League runner-ups couldn’t put away the scrappy Bulldogs (15-4-6).

“We gave this away,” Simi Valley Coach Willie Ruiz said. “We didn’t have the intensity and we suffered for it.”

Buena, the third-place team in the Channel League, won the Royal tournament in December but struggled since because of player defections, academic ineligibility and injuries.

On Wednesday, the Bulldogs pulled within 2-1 in the 39th minute on Workman’s penalty kick. They tied the score, 2-2, in the 65th minute when Workman redirected a pass by Doug Reynolds into the net.

Ten minutes later, the play leading to the winning goal began when Simi Valley’s Jairo Quintero passed the ball to sweeper Chad Ashford, who allowed the pass to bounce over his foot.

Workman gathered the ball and drove alone at goalkeeper John Wielke.

“I kind of [mishandled the ball] and I thought the goalie was going to come out and crunch me, but he stayed back,” Workman said.

Roche, who held an angry halftime talk in a restroom because “that’s where we needed to leave our first-half play,” smiled after the game.

“As usual, we didn’t look pretty, but we performed as a team,” Roche said.