As the regular season nears its end, Orestimba High School boys’ soccer continues to struggle as they lost in a close match against Ripon Christian High School 5-4 on Friday; extending their losing streak to four games.
With the loss, Orestimba is 8-11-3 overall and 5-5-1 in Trans Valley league play. The Warriors will finish the regular season without a winning record, their first since the 2019-20 campaign when they finished with a regular season record at 7-8-4 overall.
Orestimba’s head coach Jose Serrato credited Ripon Christian’s defense with moving the ball away from their goalpost, which caused issues for Orestimba’s offense.
Senior forward Alfredo Figueroa and striker Bryan Carmona, who have fueled the Warriors’ offense this season, continued their offensive production against the Knights. Figueroa recorded a hat trick while Carmona logged in a goal.
After Friday’s match, Figueroa has scored a team-leading total of 18 goals this season with Carmona trailing him with 12.
Figueroa said he took advantage of the Knights’ defense not being connected, allowing him to move past their defenders.
“Offensively for me, I saw a lot of gaps that [show] they weren’t connected as a team, and [as] soon as I took one touch, they would bite,” Figueroa said. “That would let me make my next move, moving back to get around them.”
Friday’s home game celebrated senior night for Ripon Christian. Senior players Ben Miller and Drew Meester made their presence known against Orestimba. Miller and Meester each recorded a brace while sophomore Noah Debruyn recorded a goal and assist.
Debruyn got Ripon Christian on the board first in the 12th minute by scoring a goal near the right side of Orestimba’s penalty box to lead 1-0.
The Knights doubled their lead seven minutes later after a scored penalty kick from Meester.
As Orestimba struggled to find opportunities to score near the Knights’ goalpost, Figueroa collided with Knights’ senior goalkeeper Josh Crivello who was assessed a yellow card, giving Orestimba a penalty kick attempt in the 25th minute. This prompted Knights’ head coach Danny Koolhaas to sub out Crivello for sophomore goalkeeper Welsey Vander Woude for the remainder of the game.
Regardless of the Knights’ substitution, Figueroa struck the ball past Vander Woude and cut the Warriors’ deficit to 2-1.
The Knights responded 10 minutes later when Miller scored a header off an inbound from freshman Collin Lecain, increasing their lead to 3-1 heading into halftime.
Ripon Christian's response to Orestimba's scoring would become a common theme later in the match.
Early in the second half, Figueroa had a breakaway opportunity to score for Orestimba but multiple Ripon Christian defenders doubled teamed, causing him to dribble back near center field.
The Knights’ attention towards Figueroa allowed him to provide a Carmona breakaway opportunity to score within the first four minutes of the second half to trail 3-2.
Similar to how they ended the first half, Ripon Christian responded with a goal from Meester to increase their lead, 4-2, in the 53rd minute.
As Orestimba found themselves in a deficit, Figueroa kept finding ways to make a one-point game. With multiple defenders near him, Figueroa dribbled past them and struck the ball past Vander Woude to make it 4-3 in the 60th minute.
After multiple missed shots at goal from Ripon Christian, Orestimba failed to covert several shot attempts to make a tie game.
Debruyn stopped the Knights’ scoring drought with a goal in the 71st minute to increase their 5-3. Following the goal, Bebruyn paid homage to Cristiano Ronaldo by performing his Siu celebration.
It seemed that Orestimba’s chances of tying the match were getting slimmer as they trailed by two goals with less than nine minutes remaining. However, Figueroa would give Orestimba a chance within the final two minutes of regulations.
After dribbling past center field, Figueroa dribbled past multiple Ripon Christian defenders toward the center of the penalty box to cut Orestimba’s deficit to 5-4.
While Orestimba had an opportunity to tie the game, Ripon Christian held on through the final minute to survive the nailbiter.
While Figueroa’s efforts were not enough to lift Orestimba, Koolhaas met with the senior forward after the match where he commended Figueroa’s performance.
Orestimba will host their regular season finale against Escalon High School on Monday at 5:15 p.m.
Monday’s match will also be senior night. Figueroa emphasized the importance of winning for seniors, mentioning that some of them may not play the sports at the collegiate level.
“It’s very important because it’s our last game because most of us aren’t gonna be playing college [soccer] when we graduate,” Figueroa said.
Navtej Hundal is a freelance journalist in Stanislaus County.
