Boys soccer: Sophomore striker leads Terra Linda past Branson

Sophomore Duke Elkington scored a tone-setting early goal then added a second to give the Terra Linda High boys soccer team the breathing room it needed to see out a 2-1 home win against Branson in the first round of the MCAL playoffs on Monday.

“Duke was in the right place at the right time, the first goal and second goal were very similar,” TL coach Mike Crivello said. “That’s just what the (No. 9) does. That’s what Duke is there for. He’s there to be the finisher. That’s why he’s at the nine spot so others create around him and he’s there to finish for us. It’s a lot to ask for a sophomore but that’s where we’re at.”

Elkington scored in the fourth minute then again in the 53rd minute to give the Trojans (9-4-4) a 2-0 lead. Branson pushed hard in the final 15 minutes of the game, hitting the crossbar with a shot before pulling one back deep into stoppage time.

The win sends the No. 3-seeded Trojans into Wednesday night’s semifinal against No. 2 San Rafael (11-3-6).

“It’s always a big rivalry, always a close game,” Elkington said. “I’m excited.”

Elkington got the Trojans off to a dream start in the fourth minute. TL’s press turned Branson over while building out of the back and Brooks Hamman played a quick ball to Elkington who was camped just beyond the 18-yard box.

“Brooks made a good play, looked up, found me,” Elkington said. “I had a good touch, saw the goalie was off his line a little bit and I just hit it in the corner.”

Conceding a goal that early forced Branson (6-6-3) to alter its game plan.

“Unfortunately you get into a situation like that and you’re prepared but then you’re behind after the first 4 minutes,” Branson coach Tom Ryan said. “So it changes the dynamics because now – one of the things we wanted to do differently than we did last week was press, attack, put some pressure on them. … When you fall behind, it changed our tempo and we then have to play cautiously because if you throw caution to the wind, you go down 2-0 and you can throw the tactics out the window.”

TL took its 1-0 lead into the half then Branson created its best chance to that point in the 43rd minute after Mateo Trammel played a ball through the 18-yard box to Drew Holden on the back post. Holden got around his defender and into a dangerous area, forcing a save from TL goalie Jesse Rodriguez.

Branson had a couple of half chances over the course of the next 10 minutes but TL doubled its advantage in the 53rd minute. Monty Cooke won the ball near the corner flag, beat a couple of defenders then played a ball to Elkington inside the 18-yard box. Elkington slotted the ball past goalie Niccolo Machotka-Farley to make it 2-0.

“It was all Monty creating something out of nothing really,” Crivello said. “We didn’t have much going on. We were on the front foot but didn’t create too many great chances.”

Needing a goal to climb back into the game, Ryan moved center back Jaya Breene up the field, sacrificing some defense to bolster his attack.

“I threw caution to the wind and went 3-3-4 at the end there with Jaya up top,” Ryan said. “I thought Jaya was a difference maker on both ends. He did a great job in the back.”

Branson fired a warning shot at TL in the 75th minute when Larry Calle Labou collected the ball outside the 18-yard box and fired a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar.

“I love Larry’s energy and he never says die – he just keeps working,” Ryan said. “He’s got that kind of a left [foot] and he just pinged it. He found himself in a nice space and just cracked it.”

Branson finally did score off a throw-in which Cooper Little played to Holden inside the box. Holden slotted it home to give the Bulls a lifeline but at that point, there was less than a minute of stoppage time to be played.

TL is set to face San Rafael for the third time this season. The Trojans beat the Bulldogs 2-1 in the preseason on Dec. 11 then the teams played to a 0-0 draw in league on Jan. 21.

“That’s going to be a tough one under the lights,” Crivello said. “I think it’s going to be a pretty raucous crowd. Obviously there’s the rivalry on top of everything else, on top of a trip to the MCAL final on the line. I mean obviously we’re looking forward to it. I guess the one positive is a San Rafael City school is going to be in the final one way or the other.”

Archie Williams 0, Redwood 0 (4-2 PKs)

Goalie Aidan Dunn saved a pair of penalty kicks in the shootout as the Peregrine Falcons outlasted the Giants in the first round of the MCAL playoffs on Monday.

No. 4 Archie Williams (10-5-4) advances to face No. 1 Tam (12-3-4) in Wednesday’s semifinals.

Sean Chamberlin put Archie Williams ahead 1-0 on the first kick of the shootout then Dunn made his first save. Archie Williams missed its second PK but Dunn came up with another stop to keep the Peregrine Falcons in front.

Henry Miller and Silas Eyler made their kicks for Archie Williams before Isaac Terry converted in the fifth round to secure the victory against Redwood (6-5-5).

“This gorilla has been on our shoulders for the last 3 years,” Archie Williams coach Rene Ayala said. “We’ve been knocking on the door.”

Redwood had won the MCAL postseason tournament each of the past two seasons, defeating Archie Williams in the final on both occasions.

The Peregrine Falcons are set to see Tam for the third time this season. Tam won a non-league game 1-0 on Dec. 5 and won the league meeting 4-3 last week.

“We understand what we’re up against,” Ayala said. “We understand these guys have been the class of the league this year but we welcome the opportunity.”