Wheatland advances with overtime victory

Eighty minutes of soccer wasn't enough to settle Thursday's Northern Section Div. II playoff game between the Wheatland High and Willows boys soccer teams.

With the game tied 2-2 after regulation and playing under the lights in the second 10-minute overtime period, Wheatland's Ian Latham corralled a pass from Anthony Giles and was able to knock the ball into the right side of the net to lift the Pirates to a 3-2 win.

"I was scared because every time we scored, they scored. I was happy when they blew that final whistle," said Latham, who scored his 17th and 18th goals of the season in the win despite starting the season in goal.

"We could have played better, but we won the game so there's no complaints."

The Pirates (9-7-6) got on the scoreboard first when Latham received a pass from midfielder Martin Rodriguez and found the left side of the net 22 minutes into the first half.

Seven minutes later, Willows' Serjio Garcia knotted the game when he was able to get in close and nudge the ball past freshman goalie Damon Lovelly.

Lovelly seemed to have a bead on the play, but an awkward spin enabled the ball to just squirt by.

With less than 10 minutes to play in the first half, Latham was whistled for not giving a Willows player enough room (10 yards) for a free kick. A yellow-card was issued and, by rule, Latham was forced to leave the pitch.

But just one minute after Latham departed, Luke Hollingworth lofted a long pass ahead to a sprinting Giles. The senior did the rest and drove the ball into the right side of the net to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead at the intermission.

Wheatland dominated the time of possession in the second half, but failed to fire shots when it got the ball in close to the goal.

With the score 2-1, Willows' Ricardo Mata lined up for a free kick from 40-yards out and was able to get the ball just over the outstretched hands of Lovelly to tie the game in the 25th minute.

It would be the last time the Honkers got the ball past Lovelly, who recorded 13 saves.

"For a freshman, his learning curve has been huge," Wheatland coach Rusty Gordon said of his freshman keeper. "He allows us to get Ian out of goal and has been a key to us making the playoffs."

Latham seemed to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead in the first overtime period, but his goal was wiped off when the officials ruled he was offside.

The referees had an obvious impact on the game, as Wheatland was whistled for nine first-half penalties to just two for the Honkers. The Pirates were called for 19 infractions in all, while the Honkers were called for six.

"It bothered us," Hollingworth said. "We wanted to win, but even if the ref makes a bad call it's part of the game. You just get on with it and do your best."

The Pirates outshot the Honkers 23-13 in the game and had eight corner kicks to Willows' two. "Anthony (Giles) brought his game today and defensively, Tim (Hollingworth) did an excellent job back there," said Gordon, who also praised the play of midfielder John Griffin.

Wheatland advances to Tuesday's second-round match against defending section champion Orland, the top seed in the tournament.

"We've seen them twice, so they'll be no surprises," Gordon said of the Butte View League champions. "The second time we faced them it could have gone either way. We have to make our passes and play a controlled game against them."

Hollingworth agreed that crisp passing will be the key to the game.

"Non-stop passing and communication will be important," Hollingworth said. "We have to look for the open man and get the passes off."

Contact sports assistant Andy Arrenquin at 743-0512 or at aarrenquin@appealdemocrat.com.