Thursday, March 28, 2024

Bridgeport Mustangs claim District 5/6 soccer championship

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ridgeport Mustangs varsity soccer team peaked at just the right time in post season play to win the District 5/6 soccer championship, 3-1, over the rival Brewster Bears at the Wenatchee Apple Bowl last Thursday, May 10.
“The first half of the game was scoreless,” said Bridgeport head coach Gabe Gonzalez, “even with the wind against the Mustangs.”
Bridgeport came out strong in the second half “and with the wind on our side we were able to find the back of the net,” Gonzalez said.
But even with the wind in the Mustangs’ favor, it wasn’t until mid-way through the second half that junior midfielder Omar Ibarra scored Bridgeport’s first goal from 40 yards out.
Fifteen minutes later, Mustangs junior midfielder Christian Aguilar took an assist from teammate Ozzy Orozco for Bridgeport’s second goal in the 75th minute of play.
With the Mustangs up 2-0, Brewster turned up the heat and made its first and only goal in the 78th minute of the game. One minute later, the Mustangs struck again with the final goal of the game from junior midfielder Alex Zarate.
Bridgeport goalkeeper Edgar Meza, the hero of Bridgeport’s final regular season win over Brewster with a goal and blocked Bears’ overtime kick, was credited with keeping Brewster out of a rally with eight saves on goal.
District rivals defeated
Earlier in the week the two top finishers in the Central Washington 2B league polished off their District 5/6 rivals in dramatic fashion -  in overtime by one-point margins - on Tuesday, May 8.
Bridgeport leveraged district defeats over 1A Caribou Trail League No. 3 Cashmere, 3-1, on May 5, and No. 1 Chelan, 2-1, May 8, to win a shot at the District title.
On their home pitch, the Chelan Goats took a one-point lead following a scoreless first half.
The Mustangs tied the game when Bridgeport junior forward Alexis Valdovinos scored off an assist from sophomore teammate Leonardo Sanchez, said head coach Gabe Gonzalez. The game remained tied at the end of regulation play.
Mustang junior Danny Valdovinos broke the tie in the first overtime period with a header into the net off a crossed ball from junior Christian Aguilar.
Brewster hosted CTL No. 2 Cascade and had the Grizzlies down, 2-0, mid-way through the second half before Cascade rallied. The Tigers scored on a penalty kick to close within a point tied the Bears with a close-in goal off a stray header with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.
The game remained knotted through the first overtime despite some good shots on goal by the Bears’ leading scorer Felix Nava that were stopped by Cascade’s goalkeeper.
In the second overtime, Nava took control of a long kick from Cascade’s end of the field and maneuvered the ball through several Grizzly defenders before angling a left-footed grounder into the right side of the goal for the winning point.
The Bears and Mustangs split two games during the regular season, with Brewster winning the first, 7-0, on April 12, and Bridgeport taking the second in an overtime shootout, 4-3, on May 1.

bridgeport, Mustangs, soccer

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