LAKEPORT — To quote a line from the old television show Hee-Haw, if it weren’t for bad luck the Clear Lake Cardinals would have no luck at all.
They didn’t on Tuesday as the Fort Bragg Timberwolves pulled away with a late scoring spree to win 4-1 in North Central League I boys soccer action at Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport.
“We just cannot catch a break,” Clear Lake coach Shaun Hornby said.
Locked in a scoreless battle until midway through the second half, Fort Bragg pulled ahead 1-0 on a breakaway goal that Hornby said should have been called back on an offsides penalty that was obvious to all except the linesman who missed it.
“He was behind the play and couldn’t see it,” Hornby said. “I could, everyone in the stands could. The whole game changed after that. My kids’ heads went down.”
Fort Bragg scored two more goals for a 3-0 lead before Ulices Valencia cut it 3-1 with an assist from Nicholas Holmes.
The Timberwolves tacked on another insurance goal before it was over.
Hornby said the Cardinals didn’t take advantage of scoring opportunities that presented themselves in the first half.
“We should have been up 3-0 at halftime,” he said. “We had two shots go off the post … just no luck.”
Clear Lake is now 1-4 in league play and 5-4-2 overall. The Cardinals host Willits on Thursday at 4 p.m.
In other boys soccer action Tuesday:
Lower Lake 3, Middletown 2
At Middletown, looking for their first win of the season, the Middletown Mustangs opened up a 2-0 halftime lead but the Lower Lake Trojans pulled out the victory with a trio of second-half goals.
No other game details were reported.
