Menlo-Atherton boys' soccer team falls short in Central Coast Section semis

But in a flash, it was the Longhorns that quickly wiped any thought penalty kicks from everyone’s mind as Leigh’s Federico Barbieri fired home the game-winner with under two minutes to play to give the Longhorns a stunning 1-0 victory.

“Heartbreaker,” said M-A head coach Leo Krupnik.

Leigh’s defensive pressure was evident all game long and their propensity to dispossess the Bears in the midfield was on display throughout.

It proved to be a preview of the eventual game-winner.

Barbieri — a 6-2, senior center back — intercepted a ball near the midfield stripe and jumped up into the attack, making a run down the heart of the field. From 25 yards, he unleashed a rocket into the upper right corner for the game’s only goal.

“It was an individual effort at the end (that proved the difference). He outworked everyone else,” Krupnik said. “A one-man play.”

How Leigh (8-3-3) lost three games or was the No. 7 seed is a mystery because the Longhorns were the aggressors Wednesday, who seemed to come away with a bulk of the 50-50 balls and always appeared a step quicker than the Bears. The discrepancy was especially noticeable in the first half as M-A (7-4-2) struggled to get the ball out of their end of the field. Leigh was content to put pressure behind the ball, forcing the Bears to turn and play backward. When the Bears would, inevitably, be forced to send a long ball from the back line toward midfield, more often than not it was the Longhorns who were there to win the ball and go right back on the attack.

“The first half we were against a very good team,” Krupnik said.

Despite having the bulk of the possession in the opening 40 minutes, it didn’t translate into too many legitimate scoring chances for the Longhorns as the Bears defense was up to the task, standing them up when it was needed the most.

Leigh had seven shots in the first half, but only three were on goal.

M-A had a couple close calls, though. On an 11th-minute corner, Leigh’s Sam Betz slashed in for a header that just barely went over the top of goal. Just before halftime, Betz served a cross to the front of the box where a header went off the left post and the ensuing shot off the rebound sailed high and wide and the teams were scoreless at halftime.

In the second half, M-A evened up possession a little bit more and started connecting with its players up top, putting a bit more pressure on the Leigh defense, which in turn blunted the Longhorns attack.

“It was a matter of controlling the pace a little more,” Krupnik said. “And we started pressuring up higher.”

M-A’s only legitimate scoring opportunity in the second came in the 45th minute when Will Demirkol’s shot from 30 yards was on target — but right to the goalkeeper.

Leigh didn’t have many good scoring chances, either, with several attempts from distance sailing harmless high.

A Demirkol shot from 25 yards out forced the goalkeeper to make a diving save in the 84th minute and his attempt from the top of the box was pushed over the top in 96th minute.

And in the end, Leigh was rewarded for its strong play over the entire 100 minutes of play.

“Last game, we thought we were going to PKs and we won,” Krupnik said of the Bears’ 2-1 overtime win over No. 6 St. Francis in Saturday’s opener.

“I felt we were doing OK. It wasn’t our best game, but we were playing against a good team.”

In other boys’ CCS soccer action, Sacred Heart Prep, the No. 7 seed in the Division II bracket, advanced to Saturday’s championship game following a 4-0 win over No. 6 Monta Vista. The time and place have yet to be determined.

San Mateo will play for the Division III title after the third-seeded Bearcats topped No. 2 Willow Glen 1-0. San Mateo (8-6-1) will be at No. 1 Mt. Pleasant (7-5-2) for a 10 a.m. kickoff Saturday.