Boys soccer: San Rafael secures vital win against San Marin

Teo Cristea has spent most of his tenure on the San Rafael High boys soccer team playing as a center back.

San Rafael coaches, sensing they needed more help in the attack in a crucial game against San Marin on Tuesday night, moved Cristea further up the pitch into more of an attacking role. The move paid huge dividends as Cristea set up San Rafael’s second goal then scored the next two in a 4-1 victory.

“I’ve been playing center back for the first half of the season or first three quarters of the season but it’s been a decision to send me higher up to try to make some action happen up there,” said Cristea, an all-MCAL second-team selection as a defender last season. “I’m still getting used to it but I’m trying my best to make things happen.”

The victory keeps San Rafael (5-10-3, 2-4-1 MCAL) firmly in the playoff mix, moving the Bulldogs into a sixth-place tie with Tam on seven points. Tam has a game in hand over the Bulldogs but San Rafael could also still catch Terra Linda, Branson, or Marin Catholic, who all sit on 10 points.

San Marin (5-6-4, 1-4-2) took a 1-0 lead inside the first five minutes on a goal by Kian Caveney, assisted by Nico Romero, but San Rafael responded emphatically by repeatedly attacking San Marin’s back line down the left wing.

Elmer Aguilar and Brandon Perez both had goals chalked off for offside inside the game’s first 25 minutes while attempting to break into space behind San Marin’s high line. The two players combined for San Rafael’s tying goal in the 13th minute as Aguilar got down the left side then cut in across the end line, slotting a ball back centrally to Perez who finished to make it 1-1.

San Rafael’s next two goals mirrored both of its disallowed goals, but this time around the balls in and runs were timed to perfection. Cristea played a ball to Gio Hernandez, who raced past the back line and scored for a 2-1 lead in the 26th minute.

Cristea was on the receiving end of a similar ball from Daniel Rodas in the 35th minute. San Marin again had no answer for San Rafael’s precision passing and pace up top as Cristea made it 3-1 before the half.

“We didn’t really have a plan to attack from the left but we’ve been trying to play all season,” Cristea said. “We’re a very possession-based team, technical team, but we just haven’t been putting in the goals. I think they gave us a little too much space on the counterattacks and that’s when we capitalized with our runs out wide and our runs through the middle.”

Cristea put the game out of reach early in the second half, tapping in at the front post following an assist from Brayan Rodas to make it 4-1 in the 42nd minute.

“Teo brings so much to the field – just movement, leadership,” San Rafael assistant coach Jose De La Rosa said. “We emphasize his leadership and him guiding us to wins and today he proved that he is one of the top players in the league. Two goals and an assist is a really good night for him.”

The Bulldogs moved Cristea back to his familiar center back role for the final 20 minutes to see out the game. The Mustangs hit the crossbar in the second half and had a couple of other chances flash just wide of goal but were unable to find their way back into the game.

“We’ve been in games where we’ve controlled the first half but cannot finish,” De La Rosa said. “Today we did a really good job of simplifying it, finding the open man, and putting our shots away.”

San Rafael closes the season at home against Terra Linda on Thursday – weather permitting. The Bulldogs will likely need to take all three points to make the postseason field or at least force a play-in game.

San Rafael was in the same situation last year and beat TL 3-0 but were denied an MCAL playoff spot when Tam beat Marin Catholic to claim the fourth and final spot. The teams are all positioned similarly again this year as San Rafael’s fate could be tied to the result between Tam and Marin Catholic. Tam also has a make-up game against league-leading Archie Williams on Friday.

Despite the loss, San Marin remains alive for the MCAL playoffs as well. The Mustangs would need to beat Novato on Thursday and get some help from teams playing against both San Rafael and Tam.

Around the county

Marin Catholic took a big step toward qualifying for the MCAL playoffs with a 4-1 win against Novato on Tuesday. MC (7-5-5, 2-1-4) got goals from Griffin Ochoa, Will Silloway, Rhys Jones, and Tallen Clahan to move into a three-way tie for first with Branson and Terra Linda on 10 points each. MC, which got assists from Griffin Jones, Charlie Carroll, Jake Coletto, and Rhys Jones, can wrap up a playoff spot by beating or tying Tam on Thursday. Novato (1-8-1, 1-5-1) was eliminated from MCAL playoff contention with the loss.