Knights advance to Nor Cal semis

“They have to (be versatile) to play this type of game,” said Hillsdale head coach Jaime Gomez.

So when Gomez found his second-seeded Hillsdale squad locked in a scoreless battle with No. 7 Terra Linda-San Rafael in the first round of the CIF Northern California Division III bracket, Gomez made the decision to push his attacking midfielder, Chris Lopez, up further into the attack. While the Knights were doing a good job putting consistent pressure running at defenders, Gomez needed someone who was light on his feet, who could hold the ball inside the Trojans’ penalty box.

And in the 67th minute, the move paid off as Chris Lopez corralled a loose ball in the box, turned and hit a perfectly placed shot to the far right corner for the game’s only goal in a 1-0 Hillsdale victory.

“I’ve coached Chris since he was five,” Gomez said. “We weren’t getting that extra push. … He is a goal scorer.”

It was the goal that everyone felt was coming, but never materialized through the first 66 minutes of play as Hillsdale (20-1-2) pretty well dominated the game.

But it was Terra Linda that nearly took a quick lead as Reid Brandt forced a diving save by Emi Lopez in the second minute, as the Knights turned the ball over deep in their own end.

Brandt put another shot on goal a minute later, but this was right to Emi Lopez, who finished the game with seven saves.

Hillsdale responded with a chance of it own and this time it was the Knights who were denied when Sineth Andrabadu’s shot from the top of the box was stopped with a one-handed diving stop by Terra Linda goalkeeper Anton Schultz.

Andrabadu was a thorn in the side of the Trojans’ defense as his speed and the ability to play with either foot kept the pressure on Terra Linda.

And unlike last Saturday’s Central Coast Section championship win, Andrabadu had some help on the opposite flank. Against Menlo in the CCS Division II title game, the Knights’ leading scorer, Jaxon Bunch, only played a few minutes as he was having an off day.

He certainly rebounded against Terra Linda, as his pace on the flank was giving the Trojans’ fits, as well.

“Jaxon needed this game to give him confidence,” Gomez said. “He really helped out in the first half, getting into the attack. He made his presence felt.”

All the Knights were brimming with confidence as they confidently attacked in a couple of different way — not only are they adept at playing the long ball, they are equally comfortable building the attack through the midfield. And they employed both strategies throughout the game.

In the ninth minute, Bernardo Chaparro hit a perfect pass up the right sideline, that saw Andrabadu fly by his defender and break in on goal, only to see the Terra Linda defense recover and force Andabadu into a shot right at Schultz.

The rest of the half saw Hillsdale consistently probing the Trojans’ defense, but they were up to the task and got out of the first half scoreless.

The Knights continued the pressure in the second half. Bunch had a long, powerful run down the left flank and in the 47th minute, Aiden Reyes headed a ball off a corner kick that clipped the far left crossbar. In the 55th minute, Nisith Andrabadu’s bid for an upper “V” goal was denied by Schultz.

But in the 67th, the Knights finally broke through. The game-winning goal was triggered by Chaparro, who sent a diagonal ball into the Terra Linda penalty box. Sineth Andrabadu came streaking in and put a shot on goal that was blocked by Schultz.

But Chris Lopez was there for the rebound and after holding off a couple of defenders, found the far right corner for the goal.

But the Trojans saved their best for last, as they forced Emi Lopez into a pair of game-saving stops on back-t0-back shots with about two minutes left in regulation. The first stop came with his hands. On the ensuring rebound, he made a kick save that was eventually knocked out for a Hillsdale goal kick and a huge hug for Emi Lopez from Luke Lawton.

After a couple minutes of stoppage time, the Knights were through the semifinals.

Up next for the Knights is another home game against third-seeded Granada-Livermore (16-8-2) at 5 p.m. Thursday. The Matadors doubled up No. 6 Woodland, 4-2.