Live Oak captures second consecutive TCAL title with win over
Sobrato
Morgan Hill – The Live Oak Acorns clinched the Tri-County Athletic League title on Tuesday with their 3-0 victory over the Sobrato Bulldogs and ended their season with a 1-1 against the Salinas Cowboys in Salinas on Thursday evening.
The Acorns now await the announcement of the playoff pairings following the Central Coast Section seedings meeting today. The first round of the CCS playoffs kick off Tuesday. First place Live Oak and the second place North Salinas Vikings (10-5-3, 8-2-2 TCAL) advance into the playoffs from the TCAL.
The Cowboys (6-9-4, 3-5-4 TCAL) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead over the Acorns (15-1-4, 9-1-2 TCAL) in the first half as Raul Quintana found the back of Live Oak’s net in the 17th minute.
Garrett Frechette tied the game, 1-1, for the Acorns in the second half with his 22nd goal of the season.
On Tuesday Live Oak handled Sobrato to clinch their second consecutive TCAL title with great second half play.
“We played a great second half and we haven’t done that in awhile,” said Live Oak coach Tony Goble. “We just clinched a back-to-back league title, which is a good accomplishment.”
The Acorns took the lead over the Bulldogs 20 minutes into the first half as Tim Kotyuk drilled the ball past Sobrato’s diving goalkeeper.
Live Oak added two more scores in the second half. Anthony Avalos got a goal in the 67th minute off an assist from Kotyuk and Jose Luna finished off the scoring for the Acorns in the 74th minute on an assist from Rene Hernandez.
Live Oak’s defense, which has played solidly all season, continued to play well with the shutout against Sobrato.
“We played them better this time,” said Sobrato coach Ricardo Martinez. “We had a few opportunities to score, but we weren’t able to capitalize. We’ve improved a ton.”
“I don’t think we played very well as a whole,” said Acorn defender Josh Smith. “In the second half the defense stepped it up. I think our defense needs a little help, but all the morning practices paid off for another league championship.”
Live Oak will have at least five days of much needed rest before the first round of the CCS playoffs next week.
“It’s a long season and it’s tough losing kids to injury,” said Goble. “We’ve got to play hard for two halves to have success.”
