Coming into Saturday’s non-league game with host Ripon Christian, the Manteca boys soccer team had been held scoreless for 270 minutes.
It took 40 minutes for the Buffaloes to get on the board, but that was not enough for the win, as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
“This was a little bittersweet,” Manteca coach James Burns said. “We ended a nine-game losing streak today, and in doing so, we lost our best player in Kai Masudi for an indefinite period of time. And if his shoulder is dislocated, he could be potentially lost for the season.
“It is good for these boys to finally get out from underneath it. I feel like a dark cloud has been following us all season long from injuries to unfortunate bounces. Today, we saw their resolve to finally get the ball into the back of the net.”
Jesus Ayala tied the game for the Buffaloes (1-13-1) in the 49th minute when he took a pass from Masudi and banged it into the net.
“Kai was running to the corner,” Ayala said. “Then he crossed it and I just shot it.
“I was confident when I saw the pass coming.”
The Knights (5-3-2) used a pretty combination play to take a 1-0 led in the 42nd minute. Daniel Lamdin toed a direct kick to Talen Tameling. Isaiah Vander Woude broke from the far side and took a header from Tameling and found the net for the score.
“I got a good foot on it,” Vander Woude said. “It was right there, it was perfect, I was able to send it in.”
Ripon Christian enjoyed a full lineup for the first time this season.
“We tried different formations with different people,” Knights coach Danny Koolhaas said. “This is our first game that we have had everybody healthy. It was a good non-league game to try different things. We created more chances than they did, and I thought by halftime we should have been up two or three to nothing, and to only come away with one was disappointing.
“Defense has been our backbone all year. Our sweeper, Lushen Sanders, is our best defender, and today, we put in a new goalie Wesley Vander Woude, and I thought he did really well. We had plenty of chances in the second half, and we will have to clean some of those things up.”
Wesley Vander Woude made four saves for Ripon Christian, and Manteca’s Leo Garcia tallied nine. The Knights tallied 22 shots – 10 on goal – with Manteca putting up 15 shots with five on frame.
Ripon Christian hosts Ripon on Wednesday afternoon at 5:15, and Thursday night at 6:15 the Buffaloes host Mountain House.
