Boys soccer: Archie Williams advances to NCS D-II semifinals

The Archie Williams High boys soccer team controlled much of the first half of its North Coast Section Division II quarterfinal against Bishop O’Dowd on Friday but had only a one-goal lead to show for it.

A pair of quick goals to open the second half from Willy Finley and Sean Chamberlin gave the host Peregrine Falcons the breathing room they needed and they cruised to a 3-0 victory from there.

“We had a great first half, created a lot of chances,” Finley said. “We knew coming out at halftime they were going to come out with a different type of energy so it was very important for us to come out hungry and leave everything on the field.”

No. 4 seed Archie Williams (11-4-5) will travel to face No. 1 Cardinal Newman — 2-0 winners against University — for a 7 p.m. Tuesday game in the semifinals.

Manny Cardenas gave the Peregrine Falcons a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute but the game was still very much in doubt going into halftime.

Archie Williams, which had been rotating six players in to run a ferocious press with its front four all game, kept the pressure on and quickly doubled the lead in the 42nd minute.

Jake Morrison made a run toward the end line on the right side of the field and crossed the ball into the mouth of goal where Finley was waiting to head it home. Bishop O’Dowd’s goalie made a good play on the ball, going up high to knock it away from Finley. Jordan Oliver-Roa chased down the loose ball and crossed it back into Finley, who took a touch toward goal and squeezed off a shot between the keeper and the near post for a 2-0 lead.

“Any cross I was just looking to get in the box and get a head on something, just try to be as aggressive as possible,” Finley said. “That one I was actually thinking the ball was going to come to me but the keeper did a good job at keeping it away from me. Then the ball went out to Jordan and he played a great ball to me and I just took a touch, kept my composure, and slotted it in.”

The lead stretched to 3-0 in the 47th minute after Morrison took a free kick from just beyond the 18-yard box. A Bishop O’Dowd defender made a good play to head the ball just over the crossbar for a corner. Morrison took the ensuing corner and found Chamberlin for a header that just about put the game to bed.

“(Morrison) just crossed it in and there was a guy on me,” Chamberlin said. “I kind of ran in front of him and placed my header to the opposite corner.”

All three of Archie Williams’ goals displayed a persistence and desire to score after Bishop O’Dowd’s defense made the initial stop. Cardenas’ first-half goal came after Jackson Richardson forced the keeper to make a save on a free kick. Cardenas crashed the goal and found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.

“I remember one of my teammates was saying – because he knows the other team’s keeper – he was saying that the keeper doesn’t catch the balls a lot so following through is really key. After (Richardson) shot it, I knew I had to follow through right away.”

Bishop O’Dowd (11-6-4) created a genuine opportunity to climb back into the game but Archie Williams goalie Jack Kasin made a reaction save, parrying the ball up off his crossbar in the 63rd minute on what was likely Bishop O’Dowd’s best chance of the game.

“I didn’t expect him to take a shot but I still kept my body straight and he just ripped a shot,” Kasin said. “I just tried to stick my hand out to see if I saved it and I got a couple of fingers on it and it hit the crossbar.”

Kasin was playing in place of injured starter Aidan Dunn, who tore his ACL in Tuesday’s first-round victory.

“Last year Aidan went down with a concussion and Jack had to play the first two games of our NCS run,” Archie Williams coach Rene Ayala said. “This isn’t new territory for him and I think he kind of drew on that experience. We had nothing but confidence in him that he could do the job.”

Archie Williams controlled most of the game by pressing Bishop O’Dowd’s back line with attacking players. Finley, Chamberlin, Morrison, and Richardson worked tirelessly in the unseasonable heat to win the ball back. Ayala spelled all four players frequently, rotating in Chala Rosenthal and Devin Singh to help maintain the press.

“It definitely helped to have some depth with Chala and Devin so we could just have shifts of working really hard,” Finley said. “Red Hill is a huge field, super wide, so our main goal was to keep it as small as possible and force them inside, take away the width. I think we did a good job of staying patient, knowing when to be aggressive and when to hold off and make the field smaller for them.”

Tam advances

Noah Pederson scored twice to lead Tam to a 3-1 home win against No. 5 De Anza in the D-III quarterfinals on Friday.

Pederson opened the scoring with a penalty kick then scored the second goal off an assist by Declan Murphy. West Freau added the third goal, assisted by Jack Millette.

The No. 4 Red-tailed Hawks (10-6-5) are set to stay home for Tuesday’s semifinal against No. 9 Napa — penalty kick winner over No. 16 College Park.

TL moves on

Shayan Shakeri scored with two minutes to play on a shot from the top of the box to lift Terra Linda to a dramatic 3-2 win against No. 14 James Logan in the D-III playoffs on Friday.

All five goals came in the second half with TL (9-7-2) rallying out of a one-goal hole on a pair of penalty kicks by Johan Cifuentes. TL led 2-1 but James Logan tied the game at 2-2 following a corner kick.

No. 6 Terra Linda is staying home for Tuesday’s semifinals against No. 7 Casa Grande — 1-0 winners over No. 15 Castro Valley. If TL and Tam both win their home games on Tuesday, they’d face each other in the finals next week.

MA eliminated

No. 11 seed Marin Academy’s run through the D-II playoffs came to an end following a 2-0 road loss at No. 3 Pittsburg on Friday night.