Boys soccer: Terra Linda turns on the style late, tops Tam for MCAL title
The Terra Linda High boys soccer team spent all of last week clawing and scratching just to get into the MCAL postseason tournament. Once they got in, the Trojans were unstoppable.
TL turned on the style in the last 20 minutes of the MCAL final at San Rafael High on Saturday night, getting goals from Liam Hadden, Chris Maldonado and Elvin Maldonado to beat Tam 3-0 and claim the title for the second time in four years.
“It’s been exciting,” TL midfielder Kleber Maldonado said of the past two weeks. “We knew we had to turn it on and we did it. We made it through. Even though we were on the edge, I never doubted us and we got the job done.”
TL (11-5-2) trailed by two goals in three different games last week and needed to come back and win two of them just to sneak into the playoffs as the fourth and final team in. The Trojans trailed Archie Williams 3-1 in the first 15 minutes last Friday but rallied to win and haven’t conceded a goal since then.
“We were a bit desperate,” Chris Maldonado said. “We knew that if we lost one more game that would mean our MCAL dream is out so after we saw that we beat Archie, we knew this was possible – we could win MCALs. That Redwood (win) in the semifinal just gave us all the confidence we needed to win this final.”
Elvin Maldonado had the hockey assist on TL’s first goal and scored the third goal just before the final whistle but missed most of the first half after sustaining a head injury in the game’s opening 10 minutes.
Elvin Maldonado stayed down for several minutes after a collision inside Tam’s 18-yard box and had to be helped off the field by an athletic trainer while sporting a lump the size of a golf ball on his forehead.
“I had some doubt that I was going to come in but I couldn’t give up so I knew I had to get in and make something happen for my team,” Elvin Maldonado said.
Elvin Maldonado, cleared to reenter the game by the trainer, returned his spot at right winger to start the second half — opening up more space in the center of the field for striker Chris Maldonado in the process.
“The fact that (Elvin) was able to jump in in the second half, it really gave the team life and momentum,” TL coach Mike Crivello said. “We got Elvin back, we can pair him with Chris and we got back to our comfort zone. We got back on the front foot and we started to play through them and get them both on the ball a lot.”
Elvin Maldonado began the move that led to the game’s opening goal in the 63rd minute, cutting in from the right wing and spraying a ball wide to center back Cole Greene on the opposite side of the field. Greene sent the ball into the box, where Liam Hadden headed it home for a 1-0 lead.
“(Getting Elvin back) changed the game for us,” Crivello said. “You can’t lose a player of his quality for very long and hope to create a lot of quality chances.”
Three minutes later, TL produced another quality chance but this one was all Chris Maldonado. The striker evaded a pair of defenders on the right wing, cut back in just outside the 18-yard box and curled a shot just inside the far post. Suddenly TL was flying, ahead 2-0.
“(Chris) did it all by himself,” Elvin Maldonado said. “Growing up, we’ve been forever playing on the same team so seeing him do something like that is just amazing.”
Tam (11-6-4) needed a quick response but once the Trojans got rolling there was no stopping them. Tam’s best chance to climb back into the game was a corner kick in stoppage time. TL dealt with the set piece and launched a last-minute counter attack. Rafael Gonzalez played the ball wide left to Elvin Maldonado, who bypassed a pair of defenders and blasted the ball into the roof of the net to put the final touch on a convincing victory.
“It’s been a rollercoaster from playing Archie to playing Redwood to playing Tam right now,” Elvin Maldonado said. “We were in jeopardy of not even making the playoffs. I guess it all started with the win against Archie. That momentum came when we played against Redwood and that momentum carried to tonight.”
Both teams created clear-cut chances in the first half but were unable to break through. Chris Maldonado sent a shot over the bar from a dangerous position for TL and Leo Vicente saw his shot parried off the crossbar by Tam goalie Vlad Ouellette.
Tam’s best chance of the first half — and the game — was cleared off the line by the combination of TL center back Ryan Santos and goalie Jesse Rodriguez. The clean sheet allowed TL to extend its shutout streak to about 240 minutes – a stretch that roughly coincides with Kleber Maldonado being moved to holding midfielder.
“Once we put Kleber to the (No. 6) full time, that is really what changed the trajectory of the season,” Crivello said.
Kleber Maldonado was tasked with staying on top of Tam’s high-scoring striker Trevor Islam on Saturday. With TL center backs Santos and Greene joining in to form a triangle around Islam, TL was able to limit Islam’s touches and impact on the game.
“Last time (Islam) played against us he had a hat trick so we knew we needed to do something different today,” Crivello said. “It was Kleber’s job to do exactly that and leave Ryan and Cole to sweep up behind.”