Saddleback controlled the midfield Wednesday in its CIF-SS Division 4 wild-card match until the middle of the second half when Jorge Chavarria received a yellow card and headed to the team’s bench.
Sultana of Hesperia went on the attack at that point, putting relentless pressure on the host Roadrunners.
“It was like open season for them,” Saddleback coach Mel Silva said.
In the 77th minute Enrique Raygoza curled a shot past Adan Lopez as he tried to make a leaping save for the Roadrunners. The goal cut Saddleback’s lead in half, but that was as close as Sultans would get, as Saddleback held on for a 2-1 victory.
The Roadrunners (11-6-6) travel to West Torrance (18-3-2) on Friday to face the second-seeded Warriors in the first round. The Warriors went 10-0-0 in the Pioneer League, outscoring their opponents, 28-6, in those games.
“We are up for the challenge,” Silva said. “This game at home will calm us down now.”
Scoring twice in the first half, as the Roadrunners did Wednesday, can relieve early-postseason stress.
Just 10 minutes into the game, Alonso De La Torre put Saddleback in front, 1-0, guiding a shot into the right side of the net. Brady Carbajal extended the lead to 2-0, wrapping a free kick from just outside the box around the Sultans’ wall and into the goal in the 32 minute.
“That (scoring early) is always great,” Silva said. “But I told them that the game is 80 minutes.”
Sultana (10-9-9) made the most of the last 30 or so minutes and missed two goal-scoring chances by a few inches.
In the 55th minute, Carlos Cortez lofted a free kick into the box to Miguel Murillo, whose header grazed the top of the cross bar. Less than 10 minutes later, Cortez was ruled to be just a fraction offside while making a near-post run as he tried to track down a cross from Marc Vaquez. Cortez was alone in front of the goal when the ball got to him.
“We have been going through some growing pains,” Silva said. “But they have been doing good work. … They know that if they play hard, anything can happen.”
Also in Division 4:
Western 2, Perris 1: The Pioneers (6-12-2) advance to face Godinez in a first-round game Friday at Santa Ana Stadium.
Contact the writer: ddottore@ocregister.com
