(May 13, 2007 – Yerba Buena High School, San Jose) After falling behind 2-0, Real San Jose staged a spirited second-half comeback on Sunday, getting goals from Adam Perez and Arturo Santana to salvage a 2-2 draw with the Sonoma County Sol. Two first-half tallies from Sonoma forward Miguel Santoyo had staked the visitors to what seemed to be a comfortable lead, only to see the home side recover, with Santana’s equalizer coming with just nine minutes remaining.
The result sees RSJ (0-1-1) pick up their first point of the season while Sonoma (1-1-1) moved into a second-place tie in the NPSL Northwest Division with the Santa Cruz Breakers.
“I was really disappointed with our showing in the first half and am at a loss to explain why we came out so poorly,” said RSJ head coach Nick Arellano. “That said, the guys really turned it around in the second half to earn the draw. I look forward to the next time we play Sonoma. It comes around quickly, and we will be better for the entire 90 minutes.”
The match began with Sonoma seizing the initiative, with wide midfielder Trevor Hurst giving the Real defense a torrid time on the left wing. Forward Brandon Boone was also involved, and he forced RSJ goalkeeper Nico Arellano into a sharp save in the 14th minute, when he pounced on a loose ball in the box.
But Sonoma got on the scoreboard just four minutes later. Boone drew a foul from Real defender Pedro Alaniz about 25 yards from goal, and Santoyo proceeded to hit a rocket in off the post, making the score 1-0.
Real attempted to hit right back, with Santana and Peter Lovell getting some good touches. RSJ thought they had won a penalty in the 23rd minute when Manny Avila was hauled down in the box, but referee Chris Strickland waved play on.
Santoyo then scored his second goal of the evening in the 26th minute, although the goal was mostly due to the hard work of Hurst. The Sonoma winger beat RSJ defender David Wulff to the end line and centered the ball for Brett Cook. Arellano saved his initial shot, but Santoyo pounded the rebound home off the underside of the crossbar for a 2-0 lead.
Sonoma twice came close to extending their advantage. A long ball for Boone in the 31st minute forced Arellano to come out of the box to clear at the Sonoma forward’s feet, and more good work from Hurst in the 45th minute ended with Arellano making another fine save.
Real regrouped at half-time, and began the second stanza putting more pressure on the visitors. A flowing move involving Ricardo Moran and Santana set the table for Lovell, but Sonoma keeper Mason Hilo came up with a solid save.
RSJ finally broke through for their first home goal of the season just three minutes later. Moran’s cross was just inches too high for Perez, but substitute Adriano Toni rescued the ball and sent in another cross that Perez nodded home.
With Real pressing for an equalizer, the match became more end-to-end with each team getting opportunities. Perez nearly added a second in the 70th minute, but Hilo barely deflected away Matt Amaral’s cross.
Arellano had to be sharp with a point blank save in the 79th minute, and it turned out to be critical, as Real equalized two minutes later. Sonoma had been very effective all night playing the offside trap, catching the home team a whopping 11 times. But on this occasion, it backfired, as Lovell’s perfectly timed through ball found Santana in stride, and he duly rounded Hilo and deposited the ball into an empty net.
The goal seemed to galvanize the visitors, and they twice went close in the games final minutes. A Sonoma attacker was sprung on a clear breakaway in the 84th minute, but Arellano was on hand to deny the effort. Tyler Hurst then had a free header in the box two minutes later, but his shot went wide.
Real San Jose players: Real San Jose – Nico Arellano; Matthew Amaral, Pedro Alaniz, David Wulff; Adam Perez, Ryan Villalpando, Peter Lovell, Richard Gharapetian (Adriano Toni 45), Manny Avila (Ricardo Zarate 45); Ricardo Moran, Arturo Santana
