Playoff Bound San Diego Boca FC Suffer Loss To Sacramento Gold 2-0

July 4, 2010 - PRLog -- San Diego, Ca ¬ San Diego Boca FC (4-3-3) sealed its fate Saturday night with a tough, yet encouraging, 2-0 defeat at the hands of the visiting Sacramento Gold (7-1-2). The Western Division playoffs will get underway with San Diego Boca FC returning to San Jose Saturday, July 10 to match up with Real San Jose (5-2-3).

Both sides played at a very high pace, providing a lot of excitement for the raucous and fiery San Diego crowd of 1,012. The visitors scored in the 15th minute on a 20-yard volley from forward Jose Martinez, assisted by Tony Sutton, to beat Boca FC keeper Steve Gonzalez on the near post. After this early midfield breakdown, Boca FC looked sharp, stringing together series of quick passes to create scoring opportunities, the best of which came from midfielder Abraham Gomez, who had a shot saved by Sacramento goalie Max Herrera before sending the rebound over the crossbar.

San Diego Boca FC Head Coach Papo Santos commented, “This game obviously would have felt better to win but it’s a good tune up for the upcoming divisional playoff game that we now have to look at this coming weekend against San Jose. Its win or your out, as we have to be on top of our game each game from here on out. Tonight’s game had some good spots but we also could have played much better especially with finishing our chances.”  

Sacramento went into the half with the 1-0 lead on Martinez¹s strike, but feeling heavy pressure from the Boca FC attack.

Again, both teams came out to play at a high level of intensity as the whistle blew to start the second half. And again, it was Sacramento who would capitalize on a breakdown in the midfield, causing a numbers up counterattack for the Gold. Forward Utodi Maidu collected the ball in the midfield and found Jose Martinez out wide, who sent a shot goal ward, but Steve Gonzelez¹s only play was to allow a rebound opportunity for Maidu, who calmly slotted the ball in for a 2-0 Sacramento lead in the 55th minute.

Boca FC would respond, consistently maintaining pressure. Thanks to the outstanding play of Gomez and forward Dan Antoniuk, Boca FC was able to control the middle of the field and create scoring chances. Forward Justin Picou connected on the back end of a beautiful corner kick to beat the Gold’s net minder, but a Sacramento defender came up with a timely goal line clear. Another chance came in the 89th minute when Antoniuk sent a header, also coming from a corner kick, on goal. This time the Sacramento goalkeeper made a diving play to knock the ball just over the crossbar.

San Diego will now face off with Real San Jose for the third time this season this coming Saturday night on the road in a one game elimination match. In the first match between these two teams, Real San Jose came away with a win at Helix High Soccer Stadium, thanks to a hat trick from Johnny Gonzalez. In the second fixture, the teams played to a 1-1 draw, this past week on a Tuesday night in San Jose. Boca FC has progressed significantly this season a team, and they should expect to leave San Jose with a shot of a Western Division title match versus the winner of the other divisional match up between Sacramento and Bay Area Ambassadors. Although they were unable to clinch home field advantage, it may work out for the best as the team held an impressive 3-1-1 record on the road.

About San Diego Boca FC

San Diego Boca FC is part of the Western Division of the 34-team National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). San Diego Boca FC was founded to promote professional, amateur, and youth soccer throughout San Diego County through a grassroots approach, following that of storied Argentina club Boca Juniors. For more information, visit www.sdboca.com or www.npsl.info.

Boca Soccer Store

San Diego Boca FC also owns and operates the Boca Soccer Store located in Old Town, San Diego at 1919 San Diego Ave, San Diego, Ca 92110.

Boca Soccer Store carries Lotto, Nike, Adidas, and much more. Soccer enthusiasts can browse through our selection of jerseys, cleats, balls, bags, and more. Also, come check out our ESPN Soccer Zone Lounge Area for free viewing of all 2010 World Cup matches including daily Fox Soccer, Gol TV, ESPN Deportes coverage on our 55” HD TV’s.

Matt Gorham
Director of Media Relations
San Diego Boca FC
619.221.8023
mattg@sdboca.com

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