The No. 12 seeded Greyhounds soccer team saw their rebuilding season come to an end in the first round of the North Coast Section Division 4 playoffs, coming out on the short end of a 3-1 result at No. 5 seeded Branson.
Although a heavy underdog coming in, Healdsburg made a game of it for the first 60 minutes of play. The Hounds used an own goal in front of the Branson net to forge a 1-1 deadlock until late in the second half.
“Their defender was pressured inside the penalty box by freshman forward Jordan Valencia, and the defender headed the ball towards his own net,” HHS coach Herbert Lemus said, describing the own goal.
The upset would ultimately be denied, as the Bulls fought back in crunch time with a pair of goals in the final 20 minutes of regulation to notch a 3-1 victory.
“It sounds like a one sided game, but that wasn’t the case at all,” Lemus reflected. “What hurt us was a defensive mistake and a missed shot with an open net. Two plays. Other than that, it was a hard fought game.”
All league selections
Healdsburg (2-8-1) was well represented on the North Bay League Redwood Division all league team as voted on by coaches, with defender Jesus Perez and forward Edgar Campos both earning first-team honors. Landing on the NBL second team were defender Jose Reyes and midfielder Angel Manrique.
