KENTFIELD — Looking for that first goal to give them a bit of traction, the Kelseyville Knights never found it, falling 2-0 to No. 2 seed Branson School of Ross in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division II boys” soccer playoffs Wednesday at the College of Marin.
“We could have done it, but without that first goal ? we needed to put that goal in to get us going,” Kelseyville coach Eduardo Ledesma said.
Branson (16-4-3), a senior-dominated squad, scored twice in the first half, the first goal coming off a corner kick.
Kelseyville”s defense held Branson in check in the second half while the offense generated a handful of scoring opportunities, according to Ledesma.
“We had some, we just couldn”t make it,” Ledesma said.
The Knights (13-5-1) just missed winning the North Central League I title this season, settling for second place behind Fort Bragg. Kelseyville was the No. 15 seed in the 16-team Division II field and Ledesma was hoping to reward his players with a big-time upset in the first round.
“I”m really proud of them, we did real well,” Ledesma said. “We came far this season.”
While Branson moves on to play No. 10 seed Head Royce in the quarterfinals, the Knights will call it a season.
“I”m going to be losing some good guys,” Ledesma said of seniors Adrian Mejia, Alejandro Cacho, Oscar Lopez, Jorge Aguilera, Wences Rojas, Oscar Martinez, Jonathan Cruz and Jorge Garcia.
Martinez, the team”s high-scoring forward, Lopez and Rojas were the team captains in 2011.
While the Knights fell short in the opening round, NCL I champ Fort Bragg, the No. 12 seed, did score an upset with a 4-1 win over No. 5 Lick Wilmerding.
In other action, NCL II champion Roseland Prep, the No. 11 seed, shut out No. 6 seed Urban School of San Francisco 1-0.
Quarterfinal games are Saturday.
