NCS boys soccer playoffs: Montgomery advances with upset win

Montgomery's Carson Wyatt calmly and deftly converted two second-half penalty kicks to give the No. 5 Vikings an upset 2-0 victory against host Concord, the No. 4 seed, on Saturday night in a North Coast Section Division 2 boys soccer quarterfinal.

“Carson buried both of ‘em,” Montgomery coach Jon Schwan said. “It was a hard-fought game. We were fortunate to come out on top.”

The win propels Montgomery to a home semifinal game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against No. 9 Tennyson of Hayward.

The Vikings (19-4-3) are the sole Empire team still standing in the NCS playoffs.

“We are the lone representative from the North Bay and proud of it,” Schwan said. “We are excited to go back and have a home game. We haven't lost a home game all year.”

Wyatt's penalty kicks came in the 50th and 72nd minutes and were made possible via the hard work of teammate Bryan Rosales, who was fouled after making runs into the penalty box by Concord defenders twice.

“Bryan had a great night. He was all over the place. He was phenomenal,” Schwan said. “Rosales, Alan Soto and Calvin Perkins were making stuff happen all night for us. Concord was having trouble containing them.”

Schwan said the Minutemen (13-4-4) took over the game toward the end of the first half, forcing Montgomery goalie Joel Herrera to make several of his five first-half saves to prevent a Concord score.

“Concord was all over us in the last 20 minutes of the first half. We were lucky they didn't score.”

In the 60th minute, Montgomery hit the crossbar twice within 30 seconds but couldn't add a third goal.

Meanwhile, Concord's offense stalled in the second half and the game got physical.

Concord finished with 14 fouls, five yellow cards and one red card.

Montgomery had 11 fouls and two yellow cards.

“The game got really chippy in the end. It was a playoff game,” Schwan said. “Concord was definitely frustrated.”

Montgomery had 15 shots (6 on goal) and Concord had five shots, all on goal.

San Ramon Valley 3, Santa Rosa 1

The visiting No. 8 Panthers (14-9-2) put up a game fight and led 1-0 before going down to the No. 1 Wolves (Danville) in a Division 1 quarterfinal game. San Ramon Valley (16-2-4) scored the game's final three goals in the 35th, 50th and 60th minutes to end the Panthers' season.

“Everyone was expecting San Ramon to run us over, but it was very even. We had our chances,” Santa Rosa coach Antonio Garcia said. “I thought we could beat them, but it didn't happen. They were bigger, stronger and more athletic than us.”

Even so, Santa Rosa was the effective aggressor early on, scoring in the 25th minute when Brian Sanchez connected with Lorenzo Rivas, who blasted in a 14-yard goal from the left side for a 1-0 lead.

The Panthers had other scoring chances but were rebuffed by the Wolves at critical junctures.

“We generated a couple of good chances, but San Ramon blocked a couple of our shots,” Garcia said. “Their defenders made good plays on our chances.”

Santa Rosa goalie Enrique Albor had 13 saves on 18 San Ramon shots.

The Panthers had 8 shots (2 on goal).

“We are happy with our season but disappointed we lost tonight,” Garcia reflected. “I have a lot of respect for our players; it wasn't an easy season. The players did some great things this year.”

University 4, Elsie Allen 1

The No. 8 Lobos were no match for No. 1 University (San Francisco) at Kezar Stadium, ending their storybook season. Elsie Allen (11-6) trailed 2-0 at halftime and couldn't mount a comeback in the second half against the favored Red Devils (12-4-4).

However, the Lobos season was memorable because they were co-champions with Healdsburg in the Sonoma County League, giving Elsie Allen its fourth league athletic title in the school's history.