Menlo’s varsity boys soccer team fell to Los Gatos in the Division II CCS semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 21. After the teams were tied 3-3 in regulation, they set off for overtime, in which both teams scored a goal, bringing the game down to penalty kicks. In the third round of penalty kicks, the Los Gatos goalkeeper saved a Menlo shot and then the Wildcats scored their next penalty kick, ending the Knights’ postseason run.
The Knights scored first thanks to junior Garbiel Gil’s goal from outside the 18-yard box. Two minutes later, Los Gatos matched with a header goal, and two minutes after that, the Wildcats scored again. But a handball by Los Gatos with less than two minutes in the first half gave Menlo a penalty kick that senior Sandro Velazquez scored. To end the half, Menlo scored another goal, this one by senior Andre Gonzalez Lombera, bringing the Knights ahead 3-2 going into halftime.
However, the Knights were scoreless in the second half and the Wildcats’ effort to tie the game was persistent. Six minutes into the half, Los Gatos scored off a corner kick, tying the game once again at 3-3. A save by senior goalkeeper Ben Bishop at the end of regulation forced the teams into overtime, which consisted of two 10-minute halves with a two-minute halftime.
In the second half of overtime, after an initial save by Bishop, the Wildcats scored, putting them in the lead. But not long after, Velazquez scored his second goal of the game, stirring excitement and tension in the crowd with only a few minutes left in overtime.
Once overtime was over, the teams faced each other in penalty kicks. In the first round, all five Menlo and Los Gatos players scored. All rounds after the first round are sudden victories, meaning that if one team scores and the other does not, the game ends without any more penalty kicks. In the second round, one of Menlo’s shots was blocked. The following Los Gatos attempt missed, forcing the teams into a third round, in which Los Gatos’ goalkeeper blocked a Menlo shot. Since the Wildcats made their next goal, Los Gatos won the game and secured their spot in the DII CCS finals.
Despite a heartbreaking loss in the playoffs, the boys soccer team had a highly successful season after winning the West Bay Athletic League and ending the season with a record of 15-4-3.
