UPPER LAKE — Upper Lake’s 2-1 halftime lead against the Laytonville Warriors vanished as fast as a puddle in the Sahara Desert on Wednesday afternoon during a North Central League III boys soccer game in Upper Lake.
“We were feeling good in the first half,” Upper Lake High School boys soccer head coach Kyle Moore said. “We were getting the majority of shots, the majority of possessions.”
Laytonville went on to rout Upper Lake 7-2 following a six-goal scoring barrage over the final 40 minutes.
“We fell apart defensively,” Moore said of Laytonville’s second-half onslaught.
The Warriors tied the game at 2-all seven minutes into the second half, then pushed ahead to stay 3-2 three minutes later. That’s when the wheels fell off for the Cougars, who were unable to put much pressure on the Laytonville defense in the second half.
The first half was a different story as Jason Martinez sandwiched a pair of goals around a Laytonville score to give Upper Lake a 2-1 lead. Pedro Alvarado and Benat Love were credited with assists.
Love, the catalyst for Upper Lake’s offense all season, drew more than his fair share of attention from the Warriors’ defense but was battling right to to the end.
“Some kids stop playing hard when things go wrong and others are always fighting,” Moore said. “He’s definitely a fighter.”
Laytonville, a 4-3 loser to Upper Lake when the teams met Sept. 21 in Laytonville, is now 5-4 in league play and 6-6-1 overall. Upper Lake drops to 4-4-1 and 4-8-1.
The Cougars are off Friday but return to action Wednesday at home against Potter Valley.
