M-A still fit to be tied

When keeping their shape, the Bears controlled possession and built up solid attacks on the Matadors’ defense.

But when M-A dropped its guard for a second, Monta Vista was ready to pounce. At times in both halves, the M-A midfield seemed to be disconnected from either offense or defense. It was either pushing too far up on offense or dropping too deep defensively, and the Matadors were more than willing to fill the void in the center of field.

“Guys stopped running. Losing their heads,” Krupnik said. “We’re not mentally strong enough right now.”

Early in the match, the Bears dominated possession as left fullback Ulises Cisneros controlled the left flank. Working with Jean Claverie, the Bears made several dangerous forays into the Matadors’ end. A couple minutes into the game, Cisneros made a pass down the line for Claverie, who held off a defender and cut in toward the goal. His sharp cross pinged around in the penalty box briefly before the ball was cleared.

Moments later, the Matadors showed what kind of offense it could muster as they quickly mounted an attack, getting a shot off that M-A goalkeeper Victor Escatel made while backpedaling.

Claverie, however, kept the pressure on Monta Vista, making a couple more dangerous runs at the Matadors’ defense, at one point colliding with the Monta Vista goalkeeper as he chased down a 50-50 ball.

In the 13th minute, M-A had the best scoring opportunity up to that point. This time, it was Cisneros who made a long run down the left sideline, running onto the ball at the end line. He cut back into the field of play and around a defender before sending a cross to the front of the goal. Brian Pena was there to get a weak header on the ball, but it was placed well, forcing the Monta Vista goalkeeper to make a diving save to keep it out of the net.

Two minutes later, the Bears struck. Pena won a ball in the midfield before turning and sending a long diagonal pass toward the right side of the Monta Vista penalty box. Allan Beilin came tearing in, leaped and jabbed home a right-footed shot off the volley to give M-A a 1-0 lead.

“[Beilin is a] definitely a talented player who has been overlooked,” Krupnik said. “I’m glad he got the goal. He has a good understanding of the game.”

Over the next 25 minutes, however, the Bears started to lose their shape and the high-pressure Matadors took advantage. They were consistently probing the Bears’ backline with a number of penetrating passes that were cleared away more often than not, but it was obvious one defensive miscue and Monta Vista would be in business.

It happened just before the halftime whistle. A Matador midfielder sent a ball through the M-A backline. With the assistant referee out of position behind the play, he could not tell if the Monta Vista forward was offside or not. He kept his flag down and the Matadors went in to score the equalizer.

A minute later, the halftime whistle blew.

“Same story we’ve had all year,” Krupnik said. “We get the goal and (then) lose our momentum.”

The Bears came out blazing to start the second half, peppering the Monta Vista goalkeeper with three quality scoring chances in the opening minutes, but were denied each time.

But in the Bears’ haste to find the game-winning goal, they left themselves open to the Monta Vista counterattack. And after watching the midfield disappear, the M-A defense did a disappearing act as well over the final 15 minutes of the game. Several times, Monta Vista found itself in a one-on-one situation with M-A sweeper Kalani Napoleon. Once he made the play. Two other times, it was simply poor finishing attempts from the Matadors that kept the game tied.

“I feel we’re a better team (than what we’ve shown so far this season),” Krupnik said. “I think this team is more talented than last year. But last year’s team had more leadership. That’s what we’re looking for right now.”