With his team’s game at Foster Road rival Righetti scoreless about midway through the second half Friday night, St. Joseph junior Blake Sheridan watched teammate Noah Carrillo’s corner kick from the right side sail through the air.
“At first, I was just going to let it go,” said Sheridan afterwards. “Then I decided I’d better go get it.”
Sheridan, from the left side of the Righetti penalty box, put an authoritative header on the Carrillo corner kick solidly into the net for the only goal of the game as the Knights edged the Warriors 1-0 at Warrior Stadium, tagging Righetti with his first league loss and knocking their rival out of sole possession of first place in the Ocean League.
Santa Ynez’s 3-1 win at Morro Bay Friday night knocked Morro Bay out of a share of first place and put the Pirates into a three-way tie for the top with St. Joseph and Righetti.
The results of those Friday night games left St. Joseph 3-7-2, 2-0-2, Righetti 5-4-4, 3-1, Santa Ynez 6-7-1, 3-1 and Morro Bay 2-4-1, 1-1-1. St. Joseph, Righetti and Santa Ynez all have six points in the league standings.
“That was a great corner kick by Noah,” Sheridan said afterwards.
Sheridan played at Righetti as a freshman. He has played at St. Joseph the past two seasons.
Was the win over his old team particularly special for Sheridan or was it just another win for him?, he was asked.
“It’s pretty special,” Sheridan said with a smile.
Righetti defender Armando Mirelles tried to clear a ball, but the ball went backwards and out-of-bounds. The Knights capitalized on the subsequent corner kick.
Meanwhile, the Warriors, thanks in part to drives from Nery Saguilan and Emmanul Gonzales, had a lot of good chances to score and could not capitalize on any of them.
“We had five of those in the first half and three or four in the second,” said Righetti coach Mario Ramos. “It just wasn’t our game.”
With the Warriors frantically driving and trying to score, a Righetti shot in the last minute hit the top post and didn’t go in. The St. Joseph defenders held off the Warriors as Righetti crashed the box on several corner kicks.
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“I’m so proud of these guys. They really worked hard in practice, and they made the work pay off,” said St. Joseph coach Pedro Vargas. “Our captains, (fullback) Steven Pallan and (goalkeeper) helped us keep it together.”
Righetti goalkeepers Nick Calderon and Andy Rodriguez helped their team stay in it, but the Knights managed to do just enough to win.
St. Joseph will host Nipomo at 6 pm Tuesday night. Righetti will face Morro Bay at home at the same time.
Santa Ynez 3, Morro Bay 1
Aiden Tapia scored three times, in the 19th, 25th and 50th minutes, lifting Santa Ynez to a win at Morro Bay that vaulted his team into a three-way tie for first place in the Ocean League.
“I am very happy with the result today,” said Tapia. “The team played very well and fought to the end. Even the players coming off the bench made an impact for the time that they were in, and it was great to see.”
St. Joseph 3, San Luis Obispo 1
Liz Vega, Grace Mensah and Marissa Jordan all scored, and the Knights (11-1-1, 2-1-1) won their second straight with a Mountain League win against the Tigers (2-2-2, 1-1- 1), the first league defeat for San Luis Obispo.
Valley Christian Academy 26, Coast Union 22
Ellie Mason scored seven points and pulled down 13 rebounds as the Lions beat the Broncos in a Coast Valley League game at VCA to move to 6-10, 3-2.
Oliva Uno and Carissa Maples scored six points each for the Lions. Miley DeBernardi held the Broncos’ season scoring leader to six points.
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