KELSEYVILLE >> Right place, right time and right into the net went the game-winning shot by Giovanni Ruiz, who scored in the 77th minute to lift the Kelseyville High School varsity boys” soccer team to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Willits Wolverines on Tuesday afternoon in Kelseyville.
Kelseyville”s Elias Alvarez, who also handles the placekicking duties for the Knights” other football squad, set up the thrilling finish when he drilled a hard shot off the right side of the frame, one that took the perfect angle as things turned out. Ruiz quickly controlled the ricochet and, with the Willits keeper scrambling to recover from the miss by Alvarez, booted a low drive into the open net.
The victory gives the first-place Knights a 6-0-1 record at the midway point of the North Central League I race.
“I didn”t want a tie,” Kelseyville coach Eduardo Ledesma said. “We controlled them most of the game but controlling the game doesn”t mean scoring goals. We had a bunch of chances in the first half and got nothing.”
Kelseyville (9-1-1 overall) even enjoyed a man advantage for the final 20 mintues of the second half after a Willits player received a red card. Even so, the Knights couldn”t get a good shot until the closing minutes when Alvarez dribbled in close and blasted a shot off the frame, one that would have been no good on the football gridiron but turned out to be the perfect miss on Wednesday.
Willits had a couple of scoring opportunities early in the second half and one late, but the Kelseyville defense was up to the challenge each time. The Knights spent most of the game on the Wolverines” side fo the field.
“The first half of league has been great,” Ledesma said of the Knights” nearly flawless play to this point of the season. “Our strength is definitely our passing. We can pass but we need to convert better when we have the chance.”
Kelseyville hosts St. Helena tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the football field as the second half of league play begins. The game was originally scheduled for Thursday but moved up a day at St. Helena”s request. The girls play at 5 p.m.
