CLOVERDALE — The Lower Lake Trojans played the first five minutes of Tuesday’s game with only eight players because of a team disciplinary action and went on to lose 5-0 to the Cloverdale Eagles in North Central League I boys soccer action at Cloverdale.
“Some of my guys made a bad decision today,” Lower Lake coach Marcus Humphrey said of his benching of four members of the 12-man Lower Lake roster in the opening minutes of the game.
Later in the game a Lower Lake player who was unhappy about being pulled from the field decided he was done for the day, leaving the Trojans with the minimum 11 players the rest of the way.
The Eagles took a 1-0 lead when they had a three-man advantage in the first five minutes. They added two more goals later in the half for a 3-0 halftime lead.
Lower Lake (5-6-1 league, 7-6-3 overall) is trying to reach the postseason as an at-large team and Tuesday’s loss didn’t help the Trojans’ cause. They close out their league and regular-season schedules at home Thursday against Fort Bragg at 4 p.m. The team’s three seniors will be honored between games along with the nine seniors on the Lower Lake girls soccer team. The girls play at 5:45 p.m.
In other boys soccer action Tuesday:
Clear Lake 2, Willits 2 (tie)
At Willits, Brandon Jimenez and Nicholas Holmes scored goals in the second half to wipe out a 2-0 halftime deficit and pull the Clear Lake Cardinals into a tie with the Willits Wolverines although the game may end up being forfeited to Clear Lake.
“They played with two No. 20s,” said Clear Lake coach Shaun Hornby, who brought the matter to the attention of the officials. “You can’t have two players with the same number. It’s against the rules. If one gets a red card, you won’t know who it is.”
Clear Lake (1-10-1, 5-10-3) is protesting the game. Until a final decision is made, the game goes into the books as a tie.
Jimenez scored the Cardinals’ first goal to make it a 2-1, Ulices Valenica assisting on the play. Holmes’ goal with 15 minutes remaining brought Clear Lake even.
Hornby said the Cardinals’ should have been awarded a penalty kick later in the second half when Diego Santana was tackled in the box.
“We didn’t get the call, we never get the call,” Hornby said.
The Cardinals are home Wednesday to play St. Helena and they close out their season next Tuesday at home against Middletown. The team’s four seniors will be honored before their final game.
