LAKEPORT — Adrian Rodriguez gets around for the Clear Lake Cardinals.
The sophomore midfielder/defender played defense in the first half and offense in the second half as the Cardinals fell 3-2 to the Willits Wolverines in non-league varsity boys” soccer action at Lakeport.
Willits scored the only two goals of the first half and had a 3-0 lead in the second half when Rodriguez kick-started the offense by scoring on a free kick. Juan Alvarado cut the deficit to 3-2 with a goal later in the half as Agustin Cruz picked up the assist.
The Cardinals had two shots to pull even in the final minutes but couldn”t break through.
“Their goalie is pretty good, too,” Clear Lake coach Luis Martinez said of Willits” Jose Rodriguez.
Clear Lake keeper Raymundo Gregorio had a handful of key saves himself.
“He saved us about 10 times,” Martinez said.
Standouts for the Cardinals besides Gregorio and Adrian Rodriguez were Jhovani Rodriguez, a left-midfielder, and center/defender Bulmaro Flores, according to Martinez.
“We didn”t play too well in the first half,” Martinez said. “We did much better in the second half. “We tried to pass more and played together more.”
Clear Lake is 0-2-1 on the season.
