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Sports Reporter
The same problem that has dogged the Santa Maria boys soccer team all season plagued the Saints again Thursday. They were tagged with a load of offside calls.
The Saints saw a lot of promising attacks thwarted by the offside call. Still, they scored enough to nip Nipomo 2-1 on an unseasonably warm afternoon at Santa Maria’s Ralph Baldiviez Stadium.
All the scoring was done in the first half. Santa Maria’s Rigoberto Santos started the scoring, Kayson Jett tied the game for Nipomo then Nathan Gomez knocked in the eventual game winner.
When it comes to all those offside calls against his team this season, “That’s on us,” said veteran Santa Maria coach Lalo Cuna.
“We’re delaying the last pass a little too long,” and by the time a Santa Maria ball-handler flicks that last pass, the receiver is beyond the next-to-last defender – the last defender being the opposing goalkeeper – and is offside, Cuna said.
Cuna said, “We’re not used to seeing offside being called the way it has been this year, but we have to adjust.”
Santa Maria moved to 4-2-1 with the win Thursday. Nipomo is 3-6-2.
The best players on the pitch Thursday were often the goalkeepers. Gabriel Salazar, Santa Maria’s goalie throughout the second half, bailed the Saints out early after intermission when he made a sliding block of a shot deep in the Santa Maria penalty box.
Salazar made a leaping save on a Nipomo corner kick later then knocked a Jett blast on a free kick from 32 yards out over the top post.
“Gabriel’s been making three or four saves a game,” said Cuna. “For some reason he was late today and didn’t play the first 20 minutes.” Salazar came in at the midway point of the second half.
Nipomo goalie Justin Sights blocked two one-on-one shots in the first half. Salazar and Johnathan Martinez, Santa Maria’s starting goalie, both gave their team booming kicks that often landed near the midfield area. The Saints often just weren’t in position to corral them, and the Titans midfielders usually did.
Even with all the offside calls, “We must have had about 14 or 15 shots,” said Cuna. “We’ve got to finish on shots.”
Santa Maria missed several open shots Thursday though the three saves Sights made in the second half were routine. Sights easily beat the Saints to the ball on several long Santa Maria passes.
Jett incurred his second yellow card in stoppage time Thursday when he was called for stopping a promising attack when he committed a foul from 21 yards out. Jett will have to miss Nipomo’s next game, the Titans’ Ocean League opener against Orcutt Academy at home Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Santa Maria will play Fresno McLane Saturday at home at 3 p.m. The No. 4 Highlanders rallied to beat the No. 12 Saints in the quarterfinals of the 2024 CIF Central Section Division 1 Playoffs after Santa Maria won the 2023 Division 2 championship with an overtime win over Pioneer Valley.
The Saints will host Paso Robles in their 2025 Mountain League opener Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Sports Reporter
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