Piedmont’s boys varsity soccer was defeated by Berekely High 2-0 on Jan. 17 at Witter.
With a record of 0-1-3 in league play, they fall to last place in the WACC standings.
Berekely continues their hot streak winning their fourth in a row sitting comfortably atop the WACC standings (5-1).
Piedmont was coming off a 1-1 tie with San Leandro (3-5-2), and an impressive 10-0 win over Encinal (0-8).
The first half was neck and neck with neither team having an edge or great scoring opportunities.
“The first half was close, we stayed with them, but our gameplan going into the game was to have a strong offensive attack, and that didn’t show much in the first half,” senior captain Jacques Saldanha said.
This continued for most of the second half until the momentum swung in Berekley’s favor after a penalty kick goal in the 57th minute by Berekely’s leading goal scorer, senior Oliver Adams.
Just four minutes later Berkeley extended their lead with a top corner boot from Samuel Sha.
“Everything changed in just a few minutes, it’s tough in the moment but you have to respond immediately,” Saldanha said.
The Highlanders were not discouraged by the quick swing however, senior captain Gianluca Bini rallied the team and created some of their best chances in the final 20 minutes.
“[Bini] is a great leader, he’s always talking and motivating everyone. He and Bosco led a lot of good offensive pressure to finish the match,” head coach Ben Russell said.
Bini is the Highlander’s leading goal scorer and sole striker.
Piedmont played an incredibly physical and hard fought game, seniors Bosco Lorin and Jacques Saldanha received yellow cards after intense collisions in the second half.
Senior Zolly Corrigan of Berekly also received a yellow card in the 73rd minute.
“It was a pretty intense game, I think we got frustrated in the second half, playing a close game but falling short, either way, you can’t get lost in that side of the game,” Bini said.
Berkeley outshot Piedmont 17-4 with 8 on the frame. Senior goalkeeper Lucas Malecki had an impressive seven saves, helping to keep the Highlanders in the game.
“[Malecki] had a great game, he had a couple of big saves to give us momentum in the first half,” Russell said.
While it was a tough loss for the Highlanders, they played a good team close. This was Berekley’s second closest win of the year.
“You never want to lose, but [Berekley is] a good team, and I’m happy with how the boys played,” Russell said.
Piedmont will play Castro Valley (4-5-1) tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Witter.
