ANAHEIM HILLS – The last 10 minutes of a boys soccer game, Esperanza coach Conan Hawkins said, is the time that separates the good players from the great ones, the ones who never stop fighting until the match is won.
“And we showed we aren’t ready for that level yet,” Hawkins said.
For the first 70 minutes, the host Aztecs marked every Godinez challenge, but then the Grizzlies started to find more space in the final third until Andy Sosa curled a shot into the left side of the goal with three minutes remaining to delivere a 1-0 Aliso Cup pool-play victory on Monday.
Mitch Fixa denied Sosa on his first try, slapping away a header from about 10 yards out, to record one of his four saves for Esperanza, but the ball ended up at Sosa’s feet. This time, he didn’t miss.
“Godinez really put it together (in the final 10 minutes), and that is a testament to them,” Hawkins said. “I think we are going to be a work in progress like we were five years ago. But you never really know until the season gets going. I hope we can put it together.”
Sosa’s goal didn’t come long after he was subbed into the game to replace Bryan Ibarra, who was the Grizzlies’ main target up top on Monday. Ibarra is also the quarterback on the football team. Ibarra only recently started training with the Grizzlies, so Godinez coach Ruben Fernandez said Ibarra’s fitness isn’t quite there yet. Fernandez said he plans to work him into lineup up “little by little.”
But when Ibarra was on the field on Monday, he made the Aztecs work to stop him, ocassionally drawing as many as three marks. Sometimes that wasn’t even enough
In the 51st minute, Ibarra used a nifty spin move to slip around the defenders hanging on his back, but his shot was knocked away by Fixa.
The Grizzlies return 11 players from last year’s team that won its third consecutive Orange League championship. Mauricio Martinez is one of them. He anchored the Grizzlies’ backline last season, helping Godinez give up only nine goals in 21 games.
But as organized as the Grizzlies’ defense is, the Aztecs still had some chances to take the lead in the first half, launching two shots taken from just outside the 6-yard box over the crossbar.
Erick Talbot struck first for Esperanza after making a run into space in the left side of the box in the 20th minute. Then, four minutes before halftime, Bryce Frazelle just missed with his half volley from the right side.
“They are not an easy team. They are bigger than us and more physical. That will be the case in most of our games,” Fernandez said. “I thought we played well at times, but we have a lot of work to do in the final third. It is first game of the season. The fitness is not there, so there were some tired legs. But overall, I am very pleased.”
