The Sobrato boys soccer team stumbled out of the gate in nonleague play and never found its footing during a rough debut season in the Mount Hamilton Division.
“We’ll play well, and then the next game we’ll be completely terrible, and then the next game we’re OK,” senior Shawn Henner said. “It’s been weird.”
And then something like Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Willow Glen happens.
The Bulldogs, spurred by the chance to take on the defending Central Coast Section Division II champs on Senior Day at SHS, became the first team in 29 matches to beat the mighty Rams on a first-half goal by senior forward Scott Henningsen and a 51st-minute score by senior midfielder Robbie Rubenzer.
“It’s a big win for us, a great win,” Sobrato coach Ricardo Martinez said. “Our problem has just been having consistency. When we play well, we do well. It’s just some of those bad losses we’ve had, coming out lazy, playing flat. I see it in the way they warm up. Today they were pretty motivated.”
Led by star forward Christian Leon and a cadre of skilled ball-handling mids, the Rams (12-1-5, 8-1-4) entered the game ranked sixth in the state by MaxPreps. The Division II title is still in play for them, but a second straight Mount Hamilton Division crown is all but out the window, according to Rams coach John Llamas.
“We were due for a bad game,” he said, “and this was it.”
The Bulldogs (4-12-2, 3-9-1) weren’t intimidated after playing well against Willow Glen the first time around on Jan. 19. The Rams won that meeting 2-1 in San Jose, but Sobrato gained confidence.
“They ended up getting a lucky goal in the first half, and then in the second half we just weren’t marking, and they got a second one,” said Henner, who set up Rubenzer’s score with a nice cross in front of the net. “We didn’t really do much different today. I think they just came into the game knowing, ‘Hey, we’re gonna beat these guys.'”
Henningsen tallied his sixth goal of the season after a defender misplayed a ball deep in Willow Glen’s final third. The early goal was paramount, as it allowed Martinez to drop as many as five players back on defense to counter Willow Glen’s speedy forwards.
Sobrato keeper Juan Montemayor, a junior, collected seven saves and stopped several shots from close range.
“They’re not a physical team,” Martinez said. “They’re technical; they move the ball well, but their attack is always play the ball deep to their forwards.”
With the wind at their backs, the Bulldogs were able to keep the ball deep in Rams territory and create chances.
Henner, who had switched from sweeper to forward, found room down the right sideline in the 51st minute and threaded the ball through defenders toward Rubenzer. Rams defender Glen Gomes intercepted the pass but could not clear it, and Rubenzer was there for the finish.
“We always play at a higher level in big games,” Henningsen said. “We know we can compete with these teams, but there’s some days when it’s just not there for us. Today it was.”
Sobrato ends its season Thursday at Leland. The Bulldogs can avoid finishing last in the Mount Hamilton Division but will likely be relegated to the Santa Teresa Division regardless, Martinez said. Sobrato’s frosh/soph team disbanded midway through the season to compensate for the varsity team’s loss of players to injuries and academic ineligibility.
“Because of us having to drop that frosh/soph team we are probably going to have to move down,” Martinez said. “I have five or six freshmen out here right now. I was able to get them in for a few minutes today, which is what it’s about, right? Kids getting to play and being successful, coming out with a win.”
Sobrato is set to graduate several impact players in David Mandujano, Felipe Villamares, Henningsen, Henner and Rubenzer but will have back plenty of young talent for 2012-13.
Those seniors helped lead the Bulldogs to their first league title in the Santa Teresa Division last year when they snapped another lengthy unbeaten streak – Live Oak’s (28 games).
“We knew we had talent this year,” Henner said. “It was just about finding the right combination. I think our team just came together finally. It just sucks that we came together this late in the season.”
