LOWER LAKE — A Jesse Castellanos goal disallowed by the officials in the first half came back to haunt the Lower Lake Trojans, who ended up tying the Middletown Mustangs 1-1 in North Central League I boys soccer action Thursday afternoon in Lower Lake.
Castellanos did score later in the first half to give the Trojans (5-5-2 league, 7-5-3 overall) a 1-0 lead that held up until midway through the second half when Middletown evened it up by converting a penalty kick.
“They called us for a hand ball in the box,” Lower Lake coach Marcus Humphrey said. “I’m not sure if it was a hand ball myself but that’s what they called.”
Lower Lake just missed taking a 2-1 lead in the closing minutes when a Leo Brown shot went wide right of the post.
“He dribbled up, took a great shot and missed, but not by much, maybe a foot,” Humphrey said.
The goal Castellanos had taken away in the first half came on a play during which he took a shot that the Middletown keeper deflected. As the keeper was securing the loose ball, Castellanos kicked it into the net.
“They said he (Middletown keeper) had possession of the ball,” Humphrey said of the official’s call.
Lower Lake needed a victory to clinch a winning record in the regular season. The Trojans have two league games remaining. They hit the road Tuesday against Cloverdale and return home next Thursday to host Fort Bragg. How they fare in those two games could determine if they qualify for the North Coast Section playoffs as an at-large team.
“We’ll see,” said Humphrey, who praised the performances of both Castellanos and Angelo Pelcastre in the tie with Middletown.
In other boys soccer action Thursday:
Fort Bragg 6, Clear Lake 0
At Fort Bragg, after playing the Fort Bragg Timberwolves close for a half, the Clear Lake Cardinals melted away over the final 40 minutes in NCL I action on the Mendocino County coast.
“The first half was great,” Clear Lake coach Shaun Hornby said of a 1-0 game through the first 40 minutes.
The second half was a different story.
“Our side of the field was muddy, our keeper dropped the ball early in the half and they kicked it in,” Hornby said. “It was all downhill after that.”
Hornby said the officiating didn’t help the Cardinals’ cause and his vocal outbursts eventually earned him a yellow card.
Now 1-10 in league and 5-10-1 overall with only three games remaining in the regular season, the Cardinals are officially out of the playoff picture even if they win all three games.
“No way we can make the playoffs now,” Hornby said. “We’ll just play hard the rest of the way and see what we can do.”
